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UC Davis men’s basketball selected Ryan Oliver as its new director of operations, as announced by head coach Jim Les on Friday.
In his new role with the Aggies, Oliver will use experience gained from previous coaching positions at the international, Division III, junior college and high school levels to assist the coaching staff with implementation and oversight of the program’s operations, budget and organize events that involve men’s basketball’s fan and alumni groups. He will also serve as the video streaming liaison for the Big West Conference and coordinate the team’s recruiting, travel, camps and clinics.
Oliver possesses extensive knowledge of UC Davis and its men’s basketball program since his older brother, Vince, competed for the Aggies from 2005-09.
After leading Siena College men’s basketball to its first Division I national postseason championship in 2014, Oliver graduated in 2016 with a degree in marketing and began his career as a professional basketball player in Ireland shortly thereafter. Throughout his two years there, he competed for Belfast Star BC and Ulster Elks BC; he was named co-captain of each team and selected to FIBA Basketball Ireland’s All-Star Team in his first season.
In addition to playing for both Belfast, Ireland-based teams, Oliver served as an assistant coach for Ulster University’s men’s basketball program. In his first coaching position, he was responsible for practice and game preparation, opponent scouting, individual and team skill development. His leadership helped the team finish the 2017 season as Collegiate Ireland Basketball’s runner-up.
When Oliver returned to the U.S. in 2018, he continued his coaching career as the co-director and head coach of the Spartans Elite Basketball Club, which led to Glendale College hiring him as an assistant basketball coach. In this position, he handled all of the program’s responsibilities, an extensive list that included on-court coaching, scouting, on- and off-campus recruiting, film evaluation and exchange.
Success earned throughout his tenure in Glendale led to opportunities at Clark University as its assistant coach, and at Northfield Mount Hermon School (Mount Hermon, Mass.) as the head coach of the boys’ basketball prep team and assistant coach of the national team — his previous position before joining the Aggies.
While at CU, Oliver managed the program’s budget, travel-related responsibilities and day-to-day operations, assisted the coaching staff during practice and games, analyzed all video and created scouting reports for the Cougars’ opponents. He directly supervised student-athletes, interns, student employees and team managers, monitored student-athlete eligibility and academic progress requirements.
In addition to handling similar responsibilities at Northfield Mount Hermon, he also monitored and managed recruitment of the school’s prospective college student-athletes.
From 2008-11, the Inglewood, California native earned McDonald’s All-America honors after leading Loyola High School to a CIF-Southern Section 1A championship. The two-time All-Mission League recipient graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon in 2012 after leading the school’s boys’ basketball team to its first-ever New England Preparatory School Athletic Council title.
Oliver earned his master’s in education from the school of educational, school and counseling psychology & positive coaching from the University of Missouri in 2019.
