Nicole Ryan enters her first season as an assistant coach for the Thunderbirds. She comes to Southern Utah from American University where after a successful playing career, spent a year as a student assistant.
"We are very excited to have Nicole with us here at SUU. She is coming from the east coast and will bring a wealth of different and diverse experiences with her,” stated head coach JR Payne. “Nicole has always been in a position of leadership within her teams and organizations. She has the drive and will to succeed and has spent a great deal of time preparing for this first step in collegiate coaching. I have no doubt that Nicole will be a great asset to our organization"
Ryan was a standout guard at American where she helped lead the Eagles to three consecutive NIT appearances and one regular season championship in the Patriot League. Following both her sophomore and junior seasons Ryan was named the team MVP and was selected as a member of the Patriot League all-Tournament Team in 2007. She completed her career at American as the school’s all-time 3-point leader with over 200 field goals made and recorded over 1,000 career points.
The American standout was also the recipient of the Barbara J. Reimann Postgraduate Scholarship, an award that recognizes a student-athlete at American University who has excelled academically, athletically and has been involved in community service. She also earned two Iron Eagle Awards in recognition of her dedication to the strength and conditioning program.
Ryan was actively involved with both men’s and women’s basketball camps during her time at American and spent her final year at the school as a student assistant for the women’s basketball team. She has also coached at the AAU level and led the Clearwater Green Wave to the Florida State Championship game in 2005.
The former point guard was a four-year letter winner at Clearwater High School in Florida where she was a three-time all-State selection. She received her Master’s degree in psychology from AU in 2011.
Ryan is the daughter of JoAnne and Tim Ryan. Her father is the current men’s basketball coach at Central Florida Community College.
