Why Shelby Campbell is leaving coaching after Oakland girls basketball's TSSAA tournament run
Oakland is losing a basketball coach who guided her team to the state tournament last season.
Shelby Campbell is stepping down to pursue interests outside of teaching/coaching.
"I had an opportunity to get into pharmaceutical sales, being a sales rep," Campbell said. "It was an opportunity that just kind of came up and I didn't want to pass up."
Campbell spent the past three seasons with the Lady Patriots, going 64-35.
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Oakland went 24-10 last season, reaching the state quarterfinals after winning 20 games and reaching the Class AAA sectional the previous season.
Campbell was a standout player and 2010 graduate at Blackman and later was an assistant coach with the Lady Blaze.
"i want to thank (Oakland principal) Mr. (John) Marshall for giving a young coach an opportunity," Campbell said. "Leaving basketball is difficult. I haven't walked away from it before in my life. It will definitely be a different path, but something I'm excited for, leaving with the success we had.
"We wouldn't have had that success without the assistant coaches and all the players that bought in to what we wanted to do. We had a great community and parents and a lot of support. I'm thankful for the opportunity I got."
Campbell's move is another in a long line of area basketball coaching changes since last season ended.
Stewarts Creek recently hired Matt Bradshaw to take over the boys basketball program. He replaces Howard Pride, who reigned after two seasons, including a sectional appearance in 2022.
Bradshaw has more than 375 wins in almost two decades of coaching, including most recently at Watertown, which he led to the 2013 state tournament and a 30-win season.
Middle Tennessee Christian School recently hired Greg Eubanks to take over the boys program, replacing Aaron Morrison, who resigned after spending one year at the helm.
Eubanks spent the previous three seasons as head boys basketball coach and athletic director at Harding Academy.
La Vergne has recently made two hires, naming Steve Carter as girls basketball coach and Joe Huddleston as baseball coach.
Carter, who has been at La Vergne for the past decade, replaces Chelsia Lymon, who spent two years in the position.
Huddleston, who most recently coached baseball at Christiana Middle, replaces Chris Biggs, who also spent two years as coach.
Reach Cecil Joyce at cjoyce@dnj.com or 615-278-5168 and on Twitter @Cecil_Joyce.
This article originally appeared on Murfreesboro Daily News Journal: TSSAA basketball: Oakland girls coach Shelby Campbell resigns
