New Siena Men’s Basketball Head Coach Gerry McNamara has announced his second staff hire. Former Syracuse star Ryan Blackwell, who possesses more than a decade of highly successful coaching experience at both the professional and high school ranks, has been named an assistant coach.
“Ryan has a wealth of knowledge and experience as a head coach,” said McNamara. “He’s played and coached all over the world, and coaches with such a confident demeanor. Ryan has such a great ability to connect with the players he works with. I’m so happy that the players in our program will get a chance to benefit learning from him!”
Blackwell joins the Saints after spending the previous nine years as the head coach of Liverpool High School (2015-24), where he built the Warriors into a perennial New York State powerhouse. Named the 2018 USA Today New York State Basketball Coach of the Year after leading Liverpool to a perfect 26-0 regular season and a state Class AA title, Blackwell guided the Warriors to five total sectional titles. This past season, Liverpool captured the Section III Class AAA Championship and advanced to the regional final while amassing a 21-4 record.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining the Siena family, and am thankful for the opportunity that Coach McNamara has given me,” said Blackwell. “I look forward to working with the staff, players, and community to support Coach McNamara’s vision.”
While at Liverpool, Blackwell also coached in the professional ranks, serving as an assistant coach for the Syracuse Stallions of The Basketball League during the 2022 season. He has also coached Boeheim’s Army of The Basketball Tournament since 2016, helping guide them to the 2021 TBT Championship. Blackwell previously coached at IMG Academy in Florida (2014), and also served as a youth and college skill development coach and trainer at BBA Academy in Syracuse (2014-15) prior to joining Liverpool.
Blackwell played professionally for 10 years (2000-10) with stops in seven different foreign countries spanning the globe. Following his final season at Osaka Evessa in Japan, he took over the reins as head coach while leading the program to a 67-35 (.657) overall record and back-to-back second place finishes in the Japanese B League from 2010-12. He also spent two additional seasons in the league as the head coach of the Gunma Crane Thunders (2012-14).
Blackwell played his freshman season collegiately at the University of Illinois (1995-96), before transferring to Syracuse University (1996-00) where he blossomed into a 1,000-point scorer for the Orange. In three seasons playing for Syracuse (1997-00), he amassed 1,175 points while averaging 7.2 rebounds and 2.6 assists. Blackwell was a part of three 20-win NCAA Tournament teams for the Orange, which advanced to the Sweet 16 in both 1998 and 2000. Syracuse’s leading rebounder on both the 1997-98 and 1998-99 squads, he ranks fifth all-time in program history in minutes per game (34.0). Blackwell was both a 1998 BIG EAST All-Tournament and All-Academic Team selection and a 1999-00 BIG EAST Third Team honoree.
Blackwell earned his bachelor’s degree in Child and Family Studies/Psychology from Syracuse in 2000. Born in Evanston and raised in Champaign, Illinois, he starred at Pittsford Sutherland High School in Pittsford, New York where he was a Parade Magazine All-American and the New York State Class B Player of the Year.
Blackwell and his wife, Keito, are the proud parents of a two-year-old daughter, LoElle.
Blackwell named Assistant Basketball Coach at Siena
