(GREEN BAY ATHLETICS) GREEN BAY, Wis. – Will Ryan been named the eighth head men’s basketball coach in Phoenix program history by Green Bay Director of Athletics Charles Guthrie. Ryan and the University have reached an agreement in principle, with the details of the final contract still being worked out.
Ryan, who is the oldest son of well-known College Basketball Hall of Famer and former University of Wisconsin Head Coach Bo Ryan, arrives in Titletown after one highly successful season at Wheeling University in West Virginia. In just his first season as the leader of the Cardinals, he took a team picked last in their conference to a fifth-place finish, all after taking over the program in July and with only five players on the current roster at that time.
Ryan, a Platteville-native who won two national championships as a player for the Pioneers while his father was head coach, has over 15 combined years as a Division I assistant. Prior to his year at Wheeling, Ryan was the head assistant coach at Ohio University and an assistant coach at North Dakota State University. While with the Bobcats, Ryan helped coach 14 All-Conference players and a pair of second-place finishes. His tenure with the Bison was even better, where he helped lead NDSU to two NCAA Tournaments and a memorable upset win over No. 5 seed Oklahoma in the 2014 NCAA Tournament.
In his seven seasons in Fargo, Ryan helped the team advance to four postseason tournaments, tutor two Summit League Player of the Years and a program-record 26 wins in 2013-14. Ryan coached under Saul Phillips while at NDSU and Ohio, the current head coach at Northern State University in Minnesota.
Ryan spent five seasons with the Badgers as a Video Coordinator and as the Director of Basketball Operations, joining the program in 2002-03 as a volunteer assistant. He also served as head coach for the Wisconsin Swing AAU team in 2005.
Ryan graduated from UW-Milwaukee in December 2002 with a Bachelor’s degree in educational studies and youth leadership. He played for Bruce Pearl, the current head coach at Auburn University, during his senior season.
