Shawn Jones grew up in an Air Force military family and finished his high school career at Allendale-Fairfax High School in Allendale, SC. He was a three-time All-Region selection, a 1994 All-State selection, and a four-year member of the varsity boys’ basketball team. Jones attended Garden City Community College from 1994 to 1996, serving as team captain for the 1995–96 season. He then transferred to Southwest Baptist University (SBU), playing from 1996 to 1999, where he was a three-year starter and a two-year team captain.
After graduating from SBU in 1999, Jones returned to Allendale to launch his coaching career. In his first year as the JV boys' coach at Allendale-Fairfax HS, the team posted an undefeated 16-0 record. Over the next two years as the Head Boys' Varsity Coach, he led the team to a 41-19 record and secured the first boys' state championship in school history. Jones was named the 2002 High School Coach of the Year and the 2002 High School Sports Report Coach of the Year. He then moved on to Lower Richland High School as a varsity assistant, helping win a Lower State Championship in 2004, before serving as an assistant coach at Newberry College for the 2004–05 season.
Jones joined the Benedict College Tigers for the 2007–08 season, during which the Tigers won both the SIAC regular-season and SIAC tournament titles, advancing to the NCAA Division II Sweet 16 Regional Championship game. Following that success, Jones was presented with an opportunity to coach at the international level, serving as the Head Coach for the Qatari Junior National Team and an Assistant Coach for the Qatari Senior National Team in 2008–09. Under his leadership, the Qatari Junior Team posted a 2-2 record at the 2009 Asian Youth Games in Singapore.
Returning to Benedict College in 2009, Jones helped guide the Tigers to three SIAC conference championships and two SIAC tournament titles, earning four trips to the NCAA Division II Regional Tournament.
On July 10, 2014, Shawn Jones was named Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Allen University, leading the team to a 15-12 overall record in his inaugural season and advancing to the second round of the conference tournament against the #5 NAIA team in the nation. In October 2015, Jones became the Head Coach at Sumter High School in Sumter, SC, bringing his overall high school head coaching record to 93-25. During his two years at Sumter, the Gamecocks compiled a 35-14 record, captured the Region 6-4A championship, and won the Region 5-5A championship with a 10-1 region record, earning Jones back-to-back Region Coach of the Year honors.
In addition to his coaching career, Jones holds two master's degrees from Ohio University. For the past ten years, he has served as an Instructor of Sport Management at Allen University in Columbia, SC, where he also continues to serve as an Assistant Men's Basketball Coach.
Shawn Jones is married to Dr. Shannon Jones.
