Shaw hired as new head women’s basketball coach
SANBORN — Bill Shaw was named the 14th head women’s basketball coach in program history, Director of Athletics Bob McKeown announced Friday. Shaw now leads the Thunderwolves program after 45 years as a coach on the hardwood in Western New York and is now their third coach in as many seasons.
Shaw arrives at Sanborn after spending the last two seasons as the associate head coach for Genesee Community College women’s basketball. Shaw was responsible for running both the offense and defense for the Cougars and helped them go from a winless season in 2024-25 to a 12-12 finish and an NJCAA Region III Div. III quarterfinal appearance last season.
“We are thrilled to name Bill Shaw as our next head women’s basketball coach,” McKeown said. “Bill brings years of experience and an incredible record of success to our program. We are looking forward to having him lead our women’s basketball team and join the SUNY Niagara family.”
Before his two seasons in Batavia, Shaw compiled a legendary career in Section VI girls basketball. This involved 32 years combined at Lockport (1990-2012) and Williamsville North (2012-2024).
At Lockport, Shaw won 489 games, 13 Section VI championships, 12 Niagara Frontier League banners, three Far West Regional crowns, and appeared in three consecutive Class A state final four appearances from 1993 to 1995. The three-year run included a state championship victory over Section I’s Mahopac in 1994, the first in Niagara County girls basketball history.
At Williamsville North, Shaw ended Section VI’s 18-year drought in the Class AA Far West Regional game in 2016 with a 59-56 win over Section V’s Penfield. The Spartans advanced to the state final four that season — the fourth time in Shaw’s career — but lost to Section II’s Shenendehowa, the eventual state runners-up.
Before joining the girls’ coaching ranks, Shaw was the boys’ varsity head coach at Starpoint High School from 1984 to 1990. Shaw led the Spartans to three Niagara-Orleans League championships in the 1985-86, 1986-1987 and 1989-1990 seasons and had a 598-276 record in 874 games as a high school coach.
“I’m just really excited about the opportunity to coach at the college level,” Shaw said. “The last two years taught me a lot about JUCO (junior college) basketball, and I’ll bring that experience with me to SUNY Niagara.”
In addition to coaching, Shaw was a prominent figure in Section VI athletics. Shaw served as the section’s co-chairman for girls' basketball from 2005 to 2023, during which he helped oversee the annual postseason tournament.
Shaw was a two-time recipient of the NYS Basketball Coaches Association’s coach of the year award in 1994 and 1995 (both Lockport) and a three-time Section VI coach of the year honoree in 1994 and 1995 (both Lockport) and 2016 (Williamsville North). During the early 2000s, Shaw also coached the Buffalo girls’ basketball team at the Empire State Summer Games from 2004 to 2008, the event's final year.
Shaw earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from Canisius College (now University) and graduated in 1984.
Shaw inherits a SUNY Niagara program that finished 15-10 and advanced to its eighth consecutive NJCAA Region II Div. II championship last season. The Thunderwolves’ roster included freshman and Lockport resident Azriel Hall, who scored a team-high 19.7 points per game and became the ninth NJCAA All-American in program history on April 9.
The 2026-27 schedule for SUNY Niagara’s women’s basketball will be announced at a future date.