Ryan Oliver comes to Clark from Glendale College in Glendale, Calif. where he served as an assistant coach in 2018-19. At Glendale, he assisted the Head Coach with scouting reports, student-athlete development on and off the court, and he established relationships with faculty and staff on Glendale’s campus. Ryan has been involved in coaching youth basketball, most recently serving as the co-Director of Spartans Elite, an AAU basketball program based in La Canada, CA. With the Spartans, Ryan directed and ran the day-to-day operations of the program for over 75 young athletes.
Prior to getting into his coaching career, Ryan garnered a successful playing career collegiately and professionally. He was a four-year student-athlete at Siena College, a Division I institution that participates in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC). Ryan received numerous individual accolades, including the prestige Rev. Ben Kuhn Student-Athlete Award in 2016. His teams also achieved success on the court, as he was a key contributing member of the 2014 CBI Championship team – the first national postseason championship in school history.
After graduating from Siena, Ryan embarked on his professional career where he played with two clubs in Ireland – Ulster Elks BC (2016) and Belfast Star BC (2017). For his individual accolades, Ryan was named FIBA Ireland Basketball All-Star Second Team in the 2016-17 season. His off the court efforts may have exceeded his playing statistics, as Ryan was selected as 1 of 22 members across the United States of America to the Sport Changes Life Victory Scholar Program. Within the program, Ryan worked with young people in the local communities utilizing his skills to inspire and build relationships through sport. Ryan graduated with a Masters in Education from the University of Missouri with an emphasis in positive coaching this past December.Â
