Shan Foster was born in Laurel, Mississippi, and attended Bonnabel High School in Kenner, Louisiana. He served as the basketball team's captain his sophomore through senior years. While playing at Bonnabel his senior year, Foster garnered First Team All-State, All-Metro Most Valuable Player, All-City and All-District honors while averaging a double-double. Under Foster's leadership the Bonnabel Bruins finished an impressive 21-9 and claimed their district's title. Foster's success was not limited to the basketball court, as he also made his school's academic honor roll. Considered a three-star recruit by Rivals.com, Foster was listed as the No. 18 small forward and the No. 82 player in the nation in 2004.
College career
After picking Vanderbilt over Kansas, Notre Dame, Illinois, and LSU, Foster was immediately placed in the Commodores starting line-up. During his freshman year, Foster shot a blistering 44.5% from behind the three-point line and averaged 9.2 points a game. Foster improved his game for his sophomore year, averaging 15.9 points a game, and then 15.6 points per game as a junior. It was during his junior year that the Commodores, led by SEC Player of the YearDerrick Byars, finished the regular season a surprisingly strong 20-11 and advanced to the Sweet Sixteen before being eliminated by the Georgetown University Hoyas. Going into his senior year, Foster was regarded as one of the deadliest long-range shooters in the NCAA and named an All-American candidate. Foster, with the help of freshman phenom A. J. Ogilvy, led the Commodores to their best start in school history at 16-0 before falling to the Kentucky Wildcats in double overtime at Rupp Arena on January 12, 2008. Foster would ensure that the loss was avenged, however, when, a month later, he scored 20 points against the Wildcats during their visit to Nashville en route to a crushing 93-52 victory that was Kentucky's worst loss since 1989, and their worst conference loss ever. Also that season, Foster would score a game-high 32 points to lead the Commodores to a 72-69 victory over the then top-ranked Tennessee Volunteers at Memorial Gymnasium. This marked the second time in Foster's career that Vanderbilt had knocked off the top-ranked team in the nation, the other instance occurring a year earlier when Vanderbilt defeated the eventual NCAA Tournament ChampionFlorida Gators 83-70, also at Memorial Gym. Foster hit nine consecutive three-pointers, all of which were contested, and unleashed a career-high 42 points on the visiting 25th-ranked Mississippi State Bulldogs, including the game-winning basket, to push then 16th-ranked Vanderbilt to an 86-85 overtime victory which gave the Commodores their first undefeated season at Memorial since the 1992–1993 season. The point total tied for second-highest single-game performance in Vanderbilt men's basketball history. At the conclusion of the regular season, Foster was named the 2008 SEC Player of the Year by both the SEC coaches and the Associated Press.
Foster was drafted by Dallas Mavericks with the 51st overall pick in the 2008 NBA draft. He joined the Mavericks for the 2008 NBA Summer League. He subsequently didn't sign with the Mavericks as he later joined Juvecaserta Basket of Italy for the 2008–09 season. He re-joined the Mavericks for the 2009 NBA Summer League. In August 2009, he signed with Kepez of Turkey for the 2009–10 season. He again re-joined the Mavericks for the 2010 NBA Summer League. In July 2010, he signed with Dexia Mons-Hainaut of Belgium for the 2010–11 season. In 2011, he re-signed with Mons-Hainaut for the 2011–12 season. Following the conclusion of the Belgian season, he joined Caneros de La Romana of the Dominican Republic. On June 29, 2012, Foster's rights were traded to the Utah Jazz. In November 2012, he was acquired by the Bakersfield Jam. He announced his retirement from the sport in 2013.
