AURORA | Ken Shaw is leaving as head coach of the Regis Jesuit boys basketball team after 19 seasons and 321 victories — including three state championships — with the program.
The school announced that Shaw planned to retire in the wake of a 15-10 campaign for the Raiders — who were eliminated by second-seeded Ralston Valley in the Sweet 16 — which leaves him with a career total of 873 wins achieved at five different places over a career that spans 52 years.
According to Colorado High School Activities Association records, Shaw is three wins shy of revered Denver Christian coach Dick Katte (who retired in 2012) for second place on the state’s all-time list for boys basketball career wins behind Denver East’s Rudy Carey, who is currently still active and has 929.
Shaw told the Sentinel Regis Jesuit wanted to move in another direction.
“I thought I had another year or two left of quality coaching and I wanted to chase it for a little bit longer, but it just didn’t work out that way,” Shaw said.
In Regis Jesuit’s statement, athletic director Ryan West lauded Shaw’s contributions.
“Coach Shaw’s impact on Regis Jesuit and on Colorado high school basketball overall is nothing short of remarkable,” West said. “His commitment to excellence, his love for the game and his genuine care for developing well-rounded young men have shaped generations of student-athletes both on and off the court.”
Regis Jesuit’s announcement said a nationwide search would commence for Shaw’s successor.
In his final season with Regis Jesuit, Shaw coached Eric Fiedler, a Colorado State signee who finished as the program’s all-time career scoring leader after he averaged 29.9 points per game, which ranked second in 6A.
Shaw said he and everybody in the program were frustrated that the season didn’t go better.
The Raiders played all four of the teams that remain in the 6A Final Four (losing 58-47 to No. 1 Chaparral, 60-43 in the Sweet 16 to No. 2 Ralston Valley and falling 70-60 to No. 5 Rock Canyon, while they played No. 3 Rangeview in a Foundation Game) as part of a challenging schedule.
“We all thought that we would would have a better year, but it was really up and down,” he said. “We had some good wins and we had some games where we just didn’t close well, which was frustrating. …We kept working, we just were never able to get consistent footing.”
Shaw — a former star player at Merino High School, whose coaching career included stops at Yuma, Sterling and Rocky Mountain high schools — had his last two stints on the bench in Aurora, where he accrued 442 of his wins over a total of 24 seasons in the city.
He earned 81 wins while at Smoky Hill (where he picked up win No. 500 on Jan. 12, 2007) prior to arriving for the 2007-08 season at Regis Jesuit, where he surpassed the 600, 700 (which came with a 66-60 win over Overland on Jan. 5, 2016, story here) and 800 (which came with a 53-35 win over Highlands Ranch on Feb. 8, 2022, story here).
Shaw finished with winnings records in all 18 of 19 seasons of his time at Regis Jesuit, with the lone sub-.500 season coming in the 2019-20 season in which the Raiders lost in the Great 8 before the onset of the coronavirus pandemic canceled the rest of the tournament.
In his run with the Raiders, Shaw guided the program to three consecutive state championships, as they won the then-5A classification in 2009, 2010 and 2011. In that span, Regis Jesuit featured the two-time Colorado Gatorade Player of the Year in Bud Thomas.
Shaw — who also won state championships as a coach at Yuma and Sterling, while he was a two-time state winner as a player at Merino — got inducted into CHSAA’s Hall of Fame in 2018 (story, here) after he had previously been added to the Colorado High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame.
Shaw is the second longtime Aurora area head coach to depart since their respective teams ended their seasons. Danny Fisher announced his retirement from Overland after 14 seasons, which included 205 victories and two state championships.
Courtney Oakes is Aurora Sentinel Sports Editor. Reach him at sports@sentinelcolorado.com. Twitter/X: @aurorasports. IG: Sentinel Prep Sports
KEN SHAW’S COACHING RECORD IN AURORA
REGIS JESUIT (361-120)
2025-26: 15-10 (lost in Sweet 16 of 6A playoffs); 2024-25: 19-7 (lost in Great 8 of 6A playoffs); 2023-24: 16-9 (lost in Sweet 16 of 6A playoffs); 2022-23: 20-7 (lost in Final Four of 6A playoffs); 2021-22: 15-8 (lost in Sweet 16 of 5A playoffs); 2020-21: 14-2 (lost in Great 8 of 5A playoffs); 2019-20: 13-14 (lost in Great 8 round of 5A playoffs); 2018-19: 15-9 (lost in 2nd round of 5A playoffs); 2017-18: 19-6 (lost in Sweet 16 round of 5A playoffs); 2016-17: 13-12 (lost in 2nd round of 5A playoffs); 2015-16: 22-4 (lost in Great 8 of 5A playoffs); 2014-15: 23-3 (lost in Great 8 of 5A playoffs); 2013-14: 20-4 (lost in 2nd round of 5A playoffs); 2012-13: 21-5 (lost in Great 8 of 5A playoffs); 2011-12: 20-4 (lost in 2nd round of 5A playoffs); 2010-11: 24-5 (won 5A state championship); 2009-10: 27-1 (won 5A state championship); 2008-09: 26-2 (won 5A state championship); 2007-08: 19-8 (lost in Great 8 of 5A playoffs)
SMOKY HILL (81-40)
2002-03: 7-13 (lost 1st round of 5A playoffs); 2003-04: 15-7 (lost in 3rd round of 5A playoffs); 2004-05: 17-9 (lost in 3rd round of 5A playoffs); 2005-06: 20-7 (lost in 5A semifinals); 2006-07: 22-4 (lost in Sweet 16 of 5A playoffs)