William Francis Ryan III (born July 8, 1978) is an American

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

coach who is the former head coach of the

Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball The Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team competing in the Horizon League for the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay. The head coach for the Green Bay Phoenix is Will Ryan. History The Green Bay ...

team.

Early life and education

Ryan is a native of

Platteville, Wisconsin Platteville is the largest city in Grant County in southwestern Wisconsin. The population was 11,836 at the 2020 census, up from 11,224 at the 2010 census. Much of this growth is likely due to the enrollment increase of the University of Wi ...

. He began his college basketball career at Wisconsin–Platteville. He helped the team win two Division III championships in 1998 and 1999. Ryan transferred to

Milwaukee Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at the 2020 census, Milwaukee ...

and played his senior season under

Bruce Pearl Bruce Alan Pearl (born March 18, 1960) is an American college basketball coach, and the head coach of the Auburn Tigers men's basketball team. He previously served as the head coach at Tennessee, Milwaukee, and Southern Indiana. Pearl led Southe ...

. Ryan graduated from Milwaukee in December 2002 with a bachelor's degree in educational studies and youth leadership.

Coaching career

Ryan served on his father's staff at

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

as director of basketball operations and video coordinator from 2002 to 2007. He was head coach of the Wisconsin Swing AAU club in 2005. He was an assistant at

North Dakota State North Dakota State University (NDSU, formally North Dakota State University of Agriculture and Applied Sciences) is a public land-grant research university in Fargo, North Dakota. It was founded as North Dakota Agricultural College in 1890 as t ...

under Saul Phillips from 2007 to 2014. Ryan helped the team reach the NCAA tournament twice, and in his final season the Bison won a school-record 26 games and defeated Oklahoma. Ryan followed Phillips to

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

in 2014, serving as an assistant until 2019. He helped the Bobcats finish 81–77 in five seasons and reach the semifinals of the College Basketball Invitational in 2016. In May 2019, Wheeling University coach John Peckinpaugh resigned. Ryan was hired to replace him as the head coach of the

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal may refer to: Animals * Cardinal (bird) or Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of cardinal in the family Cardinalidae **''Cardinalis cardinalis'', or northern cardinal, the ...

on July 2. He had only five players on the roster and had to build the team from scratch. In his only season, despite being picked to finish last in the

Mountain East Conference The Mountain East Conference (MEC) is a college athletic conference affiliated with the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) at the Division II level and officially began competition on September 1, 2013. It consists of 12 schools, mo ...

, he guided the team to a 14–13 record and fifth in the conference. On June 6, 2020, Ryan agreed to terms to become the new head coach at Green Bay. He replaced

Linc Darner Linc Mitchel Darner (born December 12, 1970) is an American basketball coach and former men's basketball coach of the University of Wisconsin–Green Bay Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball, Phoenix. Darner previously spent nine seasons as the hea ...

who was fired after leading the Phoenix to a 17–16 record in 2019–20. In his first season, Ryan guided the team to a 8–17 record.

Personal life

Ryan is the son of former Wisconsin coach and College Basketball Hall of Fame inductee William Francis "Bo" Ryan Jr. His wife Emily is a native of the Fox Valley. Together, they have three children: Owen, Liam and Callen.

Head coaching record

References

External links

TwitterNorth Dakota State Bison Bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ryan, Will 1978 births Living people American men's basketball coaches Basketball coaches from Wisconsin Basketball players from Wisconsin College men's basketball head coaches in the United States Green Bay Phoenix men's basketball coaches Milwaukee Panthers men's basketball players North Dakota State Bison men's basketball coaches Ohio Bobcats men's basketball coaches People from Platteville, Wisconsin Wheeling Cardinals men's basketball coaches Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball coaches Wisconsin–Platteville Pioneers men's basketball players