Utah State University Athletics

Ryan Odom was named the head men’s basketball coach at Utah State on April 5, 2021. In all, Odom is 144-97 (.598) in eight years as a head coach and has 26 years of collegiate coaching experience.

In his first season in Logan, Odom led the Aggies to an 18-16 overall record, including 8-10 in MW play, and their fourth-straight NCAA postseason berth as USU hosted Oregon as an at-large seed in the opening round of the NIT. Odom’s 18 victories during the 2021-22 season marked the fourth-most by a first-year head coach in Utah State history. Under his tutelage, senior forwards Justin Bean and Brandon Horvath were each named all-Mountain West, earning second-team and third-team honors, respectively. Utah State’s offense ranked second in the league in scoring (73.4 ppg) and field goal percentage (.476), while leading the MW and ranking fifth nationally in assists per game (18.0). The Aggies were also tops in the MW with an assist-to-turnover ratio of 1.44.

Odom came to Utah State after spending five years as the head coach at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC), leading the Retrievers to a 97-60 (.573) record, including a 50-29 mark in the America East Conference. In the 2018 NCAA Tournament, UMBC became the first-ever 16-seed to win a first round game as it posted a 74-54 win against top overall seed Virginia.

In his five years at UMBC, Odom coached three of the top four win-producing teams in school history and set a program record by winning 20 or more games in three consecutive seasons, including a school-record 25 victories during the 2017-18 campaign.

In 2020-21, Odom led UMBC to a 14-6 record, including a 10-4 league mark. Following the year, he was named the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) District 1 Co-Coach of the Year. Odom also earned America East Conference Coach of the Year honors after leading the Retrievers to a share of the regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the America East Playoffs.

The 2018-19 Retrievers advanced to the championship game of the America East Tournament after posting a 21-13 record, including an 11-5 conference mark, for its third-straight 20-win season.

In his second year at UMBC, Odom and the Retrievers posted a 25-11 record, including a 12-4 league mark, to finish second in the America East and set a school record for wins. UMBC also won an America East Conference title at prohibitive favorite Vermont and followed that up by engineering the first victory by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament history. UMBC overwhelmed the tournament’s top overall seed, Virginia, 74-54, in Charlotte, N.C., earning an ESPY nomination for the “Best Moment” of the year. Following the season, Odom earned the 2018 Hugh Durham Award as the nation’s top mid-major coach.

After taking over a program that finished 7-25 in 2015-16, Odom led UMBC to its first winning season since 2007-08 with a 21-13 record, as the Retrievers advanced to the semifinals of the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Tournament (CIT). UMBC finished the 2016-17 campaign as the nation’s third-most improved team, with a +13.0 mark, behind only Minnesota and UCLA. Odom’s team posted three wins in the CIT and became the first America East team to win three games in a postseason tournament.

At the end of the season, Odom earned the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I.

Before serving as the head coach at UMBC, Odom was the head men’s basketball coach at Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) University for one year (2016). The Bears (21-10) advanced to the NCAA Division II Regional Finals for the first time in school history and won 20 games in a season for the first time in eight years. Lenoir-Rhyne improved by 10.5 games from the previous campaign, led the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (12.4), and finished ninth in the country in scoring at 90.1 points per game.

Odom was also an assistant coach at Charlotte for five seasons (2011-15), including serving as the interim head coach for the final 19 games of the 2014-15 campaign. In 2013, he helped the 49ers earn a bid to the postseason NIT.

Prior to his tenure in Charlotte, Odom spent seven years (2004-10) on the coaching staff at Virginia Tech and was part of a Hokies’ team that earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and beat Illinois in the first round.

Odom was also an assistant coach at American for three years (2001-03), at UNC Asheville for one season (2000) and at Furman for two years (1998-99). He also served as an administrative assistant at South Florida for one season (1997).

Odom graduated from Hampden-Sydney in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and was a four-year starting point guard on the men’s basketball team. He served as team captain his senior season and led Hampden-Sydney to an 80-30 record during his playing career, including two berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament. In addition, Odom finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made and placed fourth in assists.

Ryan is the son of Dave Odom, who retired in 2008 as the head coach at South Carolina. The elder Odom earned SEC Coach of the Year honors while at South Carolina in 2004 and ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1991,1994 and 1995, while at Wake Forest.

Odom and his wife, Lucia, have two sons - Connor and Owen.

Coaching History (25 years)  

       
Postseason Appearances (7)
NCAA Tournament (2): UMBC - 2018; Virginia Tech – 2007
NIT Tournaments (3): Utah State – 2022; Charlotte - 2013; Virginia Tech – 2008
CIT (1): UMBC – 2017
NCAA Division II Tournaments (1): Lenoir-Rhyne – 2016

Coach of the Year Honors (4)   
American East Conference (1): UMBC – 2021
NABC District 1 (1): UMBC – 2021
Hugh Durham Award (1): UMBC – 2018
Joe B. Hall Award (1): UMBC – 2017

Regular Season Conference Championships (1)      
UMBC (1): America East Conference – 2021

Conference Tournament Championships (1)       
UMBC (1): America East Conference – 2018

Education                  
1996 Hampden-Sydney – Economics (B.S.)

Family        
Wife – Lucia; Sons – Connor, Owen

What Others Are Saying About Ryan Odom
Quin Snyder, Utah Jazz Head Coach:
“I have had the privilege of knowing Ryan and Lucia for over 20 years. Additionally, I have followed Ryan’s coaching career from his days as an assistant to the job that he did at UMBC. Ryan has come out to visit us at the Jazz facilities and we had a chance to talk basketball and share ideas. I know how excited he is for this new opportunity at Utah State. He has the experience and passion to continue to build an elite program in Logan.”  

Jay Bilas, ESPN:
“Ryan Odom is an inspired choice to lead the Utah State program. Ryan has basketball in his blood, and has a clear vision of exactly who he is and where he will take the Aggies’ program. He is a great teacher and strategist, and his players know they have him in their corner, always. Ryan Odom is the coach whom you want to mentor your son, on and off the floor.”

Seth Greenberg, ESPN:
“Ryan Odom is an absolute home run hire. He is a world-class coach, teacher and mentor, and an even better person. Ryan’s gift is his ability to establish real relationships with his players and help them become the best  versions of themselves. The Aggie fans will embrace his wide-open position-less style of play. The Logan community will love his family. I can’t wait to visit the Spectrum for a game, and this time, I’ll try not to get thrown out.” 

Dr. Freeman Hrabowski, UMBC President:
“The UMBC community joins me in thanking coach Odom for taking our basketball program to the next level. He is a superb leader of young men – one who teaches as much about life as about the game – and he helped provide a moment in our history that we will always remember. He is the best I’ve seen in my career. All of us wish him the best at Utah State.”