CANYON, Texas – West Texas A&M head men's basketball coach Tom Brown has announced the signing of Austin Shelley, a 6-foot-3 guard from Melbourne, Australia. 

"Austin is a great kid and has a strong desire to be a part of program that will challenge him to become a better player every day," Brown said. "He comes from a great basketball family and is a perfect fit in our system as he can really shot the ball and really go. During his time as a Buff, he is going to have a chance to showcase his skills in the toughest Division II conference in the country." 

Shelley is the first signing of the 2021 class for Brown and the Buffs after playing at Berwick College. He averaged 16 points game shooting 48.0 percent from the floor and 80.0 percent from the free throw line en route to being named to the All-Australian Team at the U18 School Sport Australia Championship in 2019. 

Both his parents, Carolyn and Phil, played professionally in Australia. His sister, Jaz, is a guard for the University of Oregon women's basketball team and his older brother played at Kentucky Wesleyan. 

The three-time defending Lone Star Conference Champion Buffs are ranked sixth in the nation in the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Top 25.  They Buffs are 5-1 on the season and have won a total of 103 games since the start of the 2017-18 season including a pair of trips to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight.