Shawn Abell is in his first season as a new assistant coach at Longwood University during 2007-08. He previously served as both the head assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Vassar College in Poughkeepsie, New York during 2006-07 after a year as a student assistant coach at Lynchburg College during 2005-06. Abell is a 2006 graduate of Lynchburg where he earned a bachelor of arts in sports management and was a three-year standout for the Hornets, coached by his father, Percy Abell.
At Vassar, Abell assisted in coaching infielders, outfielders, and hitting while also planning and running instructional camps. In addition to his recruiting responsibilities, he was involved in fundraising as well, and also served the school as its summer facilities manager; maintaining the athletics facilities and managing student workers along with administrative duties that included scheduling and organizing events for outside groups.
Abell was a three-year starter at Lynchburg after transferring from Radford University where he began his collegiate playing career. He was a two-time Old Dominion Athletic Conference (ODAC), All-South Region, and Virginia Sports Information Directors (VaSID) College Division first-team shortstop selection (2004-05), as well as earning Division III All-America accolades in 2004. Abell was also the 2005 Lynchburg College Senior Male Athlete of the Year.
Following his collegiate playing career, Abell played with the Canadian American Independent League’s Brockton (Mass.) Rox during the summer of 2005. He also played in both the Mountain Atlantic (2004) and Clark Griffifth (2002) Collegiate Leagues. Abell has additional coaching experience as head coach of the 2007 USA Athletes International Holland Tournament, the 2007 Triple Crown Tournament in Omaha, Nebraska, summer camps and college showcases, along with American Legion teams during 2003 and 2005, respectively.
A native of Lynchburg, Abell is a nephew of former Longwood Baseball standout and current Amherst High School head football coach Scott Abell ‘92 who was selected in the 1992 Major League Baseball Draft by the Kansas City Royals (37th-R). Shawn is a 2001 graduate of Brookville High School.
