Bio

Shawn Chaffin comes to Waldorf following five seasons as the head coach at fellow NAIA member school San Diego Christian College. He also spent five years as the head coach at NAIA member University of Great Falls (currently Providence) from 2006-2010.

In all, Coach Chaffin has spent 24 years in intercollegiate athletics as an assistant basketball coach, head basketball coach, admissions coordinator, and assistant athletic director. He also coached at the NCAA Division II level for six years as an assistant women's basketball coach at Minot State University.

Throughout his career, Chaffin's squads have been known for their exceptional integrity. Coach Chaffin was the director of San Diego Christian's Champions of Character program which led to seven NAIA Gold Star Awards and a perfect score of 100 for the 2019-20 academic year. Chaffin was named the 2022 Golden State Athletic Conference All-Sport Coach of Character. He led Waldorf to their first ever Gold Star Award and their first perfect score of 100 for the 2023-24 academic year.

Coach Chaffin coached 6 NAIA National Tournament teams, 4 regular season conference championships, 4 conference tournament championships, 3 conference MVP’s, 5 All-American’s, 13 All-Conference Selections, two newcomers of the year, including Brooke Dial in 2024, and coached 6 players who have continued their playing careers professionally. Waldorf achieved their first ever Top 25 ranking in Academic Top 25 coming in at No. 21 in 2022-23. Chaffin has had 6 former assistant coaches/players that went on to be head college coaches, including 1 at the NCAA Division I level. He also has served on the NAIA Women’s Basketball National Tournament Committee nine times. He has also been elected to the WBCA Board of Directors as the NAIA representative.

Chaffin becomes the first outside hire in the 50-year history of the Waldorf women's basketball program. The program's inaugural head coach, Denny Jerome '70, spent the program's first 42 seasons in the first chair, ending with the 2013-14 season. His assistant coach, Katie Schutjer, then embarked on an eight-season tenure ending in 2021-22. 850 wins later, Waldorf women's basketball now turns outside the program for its third head coach.