SHEPPARD NAMED ABAC MEN’S COACH

Todd Sheppard has been named the new men’s basketball coach and Physical Education Division faculty member at Abraham Baldwin College, according to an announcement by ABAC’s Athletics Director Alan Kramer.

The 34-year-old Sheppard has served as the top assistant men’s coach at Valdosta State University for the past three years. During that time frame, the Blazers compiled an overall record of 54-29, including the first regular season Gulf South Conference East Division championship in the school’s history. In 2002 the team also advanced to the NCAA Division II South Regional Finals.

Sheppard received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Georgia Southern University and his Master’s degree in outdoor education from Georgia College. He served as head boys’ basketball coach at South Effingham High School for one year and at Loganville High School for two years. He was the graduate assistant basketball coach at Georgia College and also the assistant men’s basketball coach and recruiting coordinator at Hiwassee (Tenn.) College before taking over as Coach Jim Yarbrough’s assistant at VSU.

“My coaching philosophy has been shaped by many coaches and teams over the 13 years I have been in coaching,” Sheppard said. “I believe in being a great defensive basketball team with a strong offensive plan isolating each player’s strengths. My players are taught to attack at both ends of the floor and to be fearless in their approach to the game.”

Sheppard and his wife, Rachel, have two children, Max, 1, and Lucy, 15 weeks.

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