Zach Ruebesam, an assistant coach at the University of Colorado, has been named the new head coach of the Colorado State Pueblo University men’s basketball program, as announced Monday morning by CSU Pueblo Vice President of Athletics and Strategic Partnerships, Dr. Paul Plinske. Ruebesam begins his duties at CSU Pueblo on April 14.
“On behalf of CSU Pueblo, I’d like to welcome Zach Ruebesam and his wife Hallie to Pack Athletics. Zach brings a high level of energy and passion to this position. He has a humble and hungry heart that is ready to be our next leader,” Dr. Plinske said. “As an ambitious professional, he has risen from student manager to top confidant for some of the best coaches in the business. His experiences at many levels, including the mentoring received along the way, have helped him develop a comprehensive plan to guide Pack men’s basketball. Above all, the personal connections Zach made in Pueblo in such a short period is what reasoned the most. We had an incredible group of finalists, and this decision was very difficult. I am honored to name Zach as our next head men’s basketball coach.”
Ruebesam, who will be making his collegiate head coaching debut with the ThunderWolves, comes to CSU Pueblo from the University of Colorado, where he has spent four seasons serving first as a Director of Player Development for two seasons and then as an assistant coach on Tad Boyle’s staff the past two seasons. Along with coaching with the Buffs, he served as the head coach for Team Colorado, the Buffaloes alumni squad in The Basketball Tournament in 2023 and 2024. The Team Colorado TBT team advanced to the Elite Eight of 2024 TBT after winning the Wichita, Kan., Regional.
Along with coaching Team Colorado in the TBT, Ruebesam was also selected to take part in the 2024 Jay Bilas Coaching Leadership Program with other Division I assistant coaches from around the country. The CLP is designed specifically for more experienced assistant coaches to refine his or her thinking and approach to coaching so that they are prepared to explore, interview, and execute their first head coaching job.
“I am incredibly honored and humbled to be named the Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Colorado State University Pueblo. I want to thank Interim President Rico Munn and Athletic Director Dr. Paul Plinske for believing in my vision for Pack Basketball and entrusting me with this opportunity. CSU Pueblo is a special place with a rich tradition and limitless potential. I’m thrilled to lead the next chapter of this program,” Ruebesam said. “I’m especially grateful to Tad Boyle, Rodney Billups, and Dan Ficke — three mentors who have each played a significant role in my journey and helped shape me as a leader and coach. Their belief in me has prepared me for this moment.
“Most importantly, I want to thank my wife Hallie, and my family for their endless love, support, and sacrifice. This opportunity wouldn’t be possible without them.”
Ruebesam, who will be the eighth head men’s basketball coach for the Pack since becoming a four-year school in 1962, was one of over 110 applicants who applied for the position, and he was identified as one of the three finalists for the position who came to campus over the past 10 days for in-person interviews with the committee, the Pack men’s basketball players and members of the Pueblo community.
“I’d like to thank our committee members Jenna McKinley-Fall (chair), Ben Greenberg, Tommie Johnson, Tim Simmons, and John Wristen. They invested countless hours in this process and did an amazing job vetting well over 110 applicants. We also had significant involvement from our valued student-athletes and community members. Their insight throughout the entire process was invaluable,” Dr. Plinske said.
Prior to working on Boyle’s UC staff, Ruebesam spent two seasons as an assistant coach on current MSU Denver’s head coach Dan Ficke’s staff at Belmont Abbey, an NCAA Division II school in Belmont, N.C., where he helped lead the Crusaders to a 39-15 record and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
In 2020-21, Belmont Abbey had an 18-5 overall record and finished second in the Conference Carolinas with a 13-4 mark. The Crusaders won the Conference Carolinas Tournament and claimed the No. 1 seed in the Southeast Regional of the Division II Tournament, advancing to the regional semifinals.
He served as the team’s recruiting coordinator in 2020-21 and primarily worked with the guards. In his first season in 2019-20, he worked with the big men, while serving as the head coach of the program’s development team.
In 2019-20, BAC was 21-10 overall and runner-up in Conference Carolinas. The Crusaders were set to be the No. 8 seed in the Southeast Region before the tournament was canceled due to the COVID-10 pandemic.
Before his time at Belmont Abbey, Ruebesam spent three years on staff at the University of Denver under former CU assistant coach Rodney Billups. He was the Pioneers’ Director of Player Development for the 2018-19 season. He assumed the role of Director of Operations leading into the 2019-20 season, but when Ficke, who at the time was a DU assistant coach, took the head coaching job at Belmont Abbey, Ruebesam went with him as an assistant. He was a graduate manager at DU for his first two seasons while completing his master’s degree.
Ruebesam served as the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Stay to Win Coordinator for the DU men’s basketball program. Stay to Win is a dropout prevention program that partners college programs with local high schools to encourage, educate, and help students who are at risk of dropping out to make good decisions, stay in school, and graduate.
A Colorado native and CU Boulder graduate, Ruebesam served as a student manager for the Buffaloes from 2012-16, serving as the head student manager for the last of those three seasons.
During that span, Colorado advanced to the NCAA Tournament three times (2013, 2014, and 2016), winning at least 20 games in each of those seasons.
A 2016 graduate of the University of Colorado, where he earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration (Management) and earned his Master of Arts degree in Sports Coaching from the University of Denver in 2018.
The Berthoud, Colo., native attended Berthoud High School and played both football and basketball at the school and was inducted into the Berthoud Sports Hall of Fame Class of 2019 on May 23, 2019.
