Ole Miss did not have to look far when finding a new frontman to lead its prestigious rifle program.
Athletic director Keith Carter announced a promotion from within on Friday. Olympic gold medalist and Rebel assistant coach Will Shaner has been promoted to oversee the program as the head honcho. Shaner’s promotion comes a month after former head coach Rachel Martin resigned from her post to pursue other professional opportunities
“Our rifle program has built tremendous momentum, and we’re excited to continue that upward trajectory under Will’s leadership,” Carter said. “His credentials at such a young age are truly remarkable, and his impact on our team over the last two years is evident. This is a championship caliber program, and we look forward to reaching the next level with Will at the helm.”
Shaner helped the Rebels advance to the NCAA Championships in both of his seasons as an assistant coach. In his second year, he assisted the team to its first 10-win season since 2021-22 and finished with an individual national title, a team runner-up finish in the NCAA’s air rifle competition, and silver medals in the PRC smallbore and aggregate placement.
“Being part of Ole Miss Rifle the past two years has been the most rewarding experience of my career,” Shaner said. “I am honored to lead this group as head coach and continue the culture of excellence and trust we’ve built here. I’m excited to get back to work and see what the future has in store for this program.”
New vision, same target 🏆
Congratulations to Coach Will Shaner on becoming the fourth head coach in program history!
🔗 https://t.co/ZMqLvU3Tj4 pic.twitter.com/glNxSuPlDQ
— Ole Miss Rifle (@OleMissRifle) May 23, 2025
Shaner helped develop budding star Audrey Gogniat. She became Ole Miss rifle‘s first individual national champion in program history after firing a perfect 600 in air rifle at the 2025 NCAA Championships.
The new head coach, at age 24, will be the youngest to hold his position in program history. He joined Ole Miss in 2023 after a stellar five-year collegiate career at the University of Kentucky, where he led the program to four national championship appearances and back-to-back titles in 2021 and 2022.
The 11-time first-team All-American brought an elite shooting background to Oxford after having served as a member of the U.S. Junior National Team for five years before becoming a member of the U.S. National Team.
In his junior season, the Colorado native took his talents to a new level, collegiately and internationally. Shaner finished as the NCAA Air Rifle runner-up to teammate Mary Tucker at the NCAA Championships. His 1184 combined score helped the Wildcats to their second national title in three seasons, excluding the shortened 2019-2020 season.
Shaner excelled in the summer at the National Junior Olympics, the ISSF World Cup, and the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, taking home gold medals at each event. In July of 2021, Shaner became the first American to win the gold medal in men’s air rifle, cementing himself as the world’s best male air rifle shooter and setting an Olympic record with a 251.6 in the finals.
Coming off of his Olympic victory, Shaner guided Kentucky to its second straight national title and was crowned the NCAA Smallbore Individual National Champion. He wrapped his collegiate career, finishing as the NCAA National runner-up in Smallbore with a silver medal, and helped the Wildcats secure a third-place finish.
He will now take the reins of an immensely successful rifle club in Oxford.
