Todd Shelton
Head Baseball Coach
Todd Shelton begins his ninth season as the Head Coach of the Panola Ponies. Coach Shelton has a 300-238 record in his eight seasons at Panola and career head coaching record of 524-379. The Ponies have reached the playoffs in six of his eight seasons along with a CO- Conference Championship in 2009 while being ranked as high as 7th NJCAA top 25 National Polls.
Shelton is a 1986 graduate of Conroe High School. He received his Bachelors Degree from Oklahoma State and later went on to earn a Masters Degree from Cumberland University.
Shelton attended and played baseball at McLennan Community College before going on to play for the legendary Coach Gary Ward at Oklahoma State University. As a catcher for the Cowboys, Shelton had the opportunity to play in two NCAA Regional Championships and the 1990 NCAA College World Series National Championship game. Following the 1990 College World Series, Shelton signed and played one season with the Cleveland Indians.
Shelton began his coaching career at Oklahoma State University as an assistant to Coach Ward. He then moved to be the first assistant at the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) powerhouse, Cumberland University. In 1993 Cumberland advanced to the NAIA College World Series.
In August of 1994 Shelton returned to Oklahoma State University as an assistant, and once again the Cowboys returned to the NCAACollege World Series in 1996. The next season Shelton was an assistant coach on the National Championship Team at Northeast Texas Community College.
In 1997 Shelton became the head baseball coach at Eastern Oklahoma State College where he led the team to its first NJCAA College World Series in 2001. Shelton stayed at Eastern Oklahoma until 2004.
In 2005-2007, Shelton was on the staff of Oral Roberts University. During that time his teams have participated in two NCAA Regionals and the 2006 NCAA Super Regional.
Office: 903-693-2062
Email: tshelton@panola.edu
Brandon Benton
Assistant Baseball Coach
Brandon Benton is entering his third season as an Assistant Coach for the Panola Ponies. Coach Benton serves as the teams Recruiting Coordinator, Strenght Coach and works with hitters and infielders. Prior to joining the Ponies staff in 2014 Benton served as the Head Coach at Central Hinds Academy in 2013. In 2012, Benton was on staff at Greenville College as a Graduate Assistant where he lead the Strength program as well as the assisted in recruiting. In 2011, Benton served as an Assistant Coach at St Aloysius High School where he worked primarily with hitters and outfielders. From 2010-2008, Benton served as an assistant for Mississippi's Reviving Baseball in Inner-cities (RBI).
As a player, he was honored twice as an All-Conference athlete. As a senior at Mississippi College he was awarded with All-Atlantic-Southwest-Conference honors as an outfielder where he lead the team in home-runs. Before transferring to Mississippi College, Benton played at Belhaven University where he helped lead the Blazers to the school's first ever NAIA College World Series appearance. Also at Belhaven he was awarded with All-Gulf-Coast-Atlantic-Conference honors as a designated hitter. Before Belhaven, Benton played for Hinds Community College.
Before entering college Benton served on active duty in the United States Air Force for 4 years as a Security Forces Airman.
Benton completed his Bachelors of Science degree in Kinesiology (Sports Management) from Mississippi College and his Masters of Arts in Education (Coaching) from Greenville College.
Office: 903-693-2096
Cell: 601-624-2897
Email: bbenton@panola.edu