WPI Men’s Basketball coach Chris Bartley recently announced that Ryan Flynn ’06 has joined his coaching staff as the top assistant. Flynn replaces Rob Southall who served on the Engineer bench for the past eight years and was named as the head coach at Elms last month.
Flynn returns to WPI after serving as the owner and head coach of Crossover Basketball, a non-profit AAU basketball organization based in San Antonio, TX. He was responsible for all aspects of the organization including coaching, player development, college exposure, recruiting, scheduling, managing finances and organizing travel. A noted clinician Flynn organized weekend basketball clinics during the AAU offseason and taught individual training sessions throughout the year.
Flynn also brings professional experience, spending the past seven years working in Amesbury, MA and San Antonio, TX as an Applications Engineer for Munters Corporation While at Munters he was responsible for supporting the global sales rep force in the optimization, design and quoting of commercial and industrial desiccant dehumidification equipment.
"I am ecstatic to welcome Ryan Flynn ’06 back to WPI as our full-time assistant men’s basketball coach," said Bartley. "He is one of my all-time favorite people to coach and we have maintained a very close relationship through the years. First and foremost he is a person of high character with a passion for teaching basketball and developing the people he coaches. His time spent working in a professional environment in the field of manufacturing will open doors for our current student-athletes and provides instant credibility for him to our future prospects and their families."
"First and foremost I would like to congratulate Rob Southall on his new position," stated Flynn. "As one of his former players, I am grateful for all that he did for me, and I am happy to see his hard work & dedication pay off. It is well deserved."
"I leave behind an amazing group of basketball players in San Antonio, TX, many of whom I consider family," continued Flynn. "I will carry with me all of these friendships, and all that I learned from them."
Flynn was a standout guard for Bartley, leading the Engineers to three NEWMAC regular season titles and a pair of NEWMAC Tournament championships. As a senior he led the Engineers to their third straight NCAA Tournament berth (including a Sweet 16 appearance) and was named first team All-NEWMAC and All-New England. He also earned the Percy Carpenter award, presented to the senior who displays the best example of sportsmanship while a WPI student-athlete.
"As a member of my first recruiting class as coach of WPI, Flynny helped transform us along with classmates Brett Dickson, Steve Furber, Mike Prestileo and Brian Steele into one of the top programs in New England," continued Bartley. "I refer to that group as the "Founding Fathers" of this era of WPI basketball and it is a wonderful feeling for me to see it come full-circle and have Coach Flynn at my side. As a First Team All-NEWMAC and NABC All-New England guard he was one of the toughest and most clutch players we have ever had. Our players will thrive under his player development skills and his knowledge and passion for WPI will be instrumental in our recruiting efforts."
"I am blessed to have this incredible opportunity here at WPI, to coach alongside Bartley," commented Flynn. "As a former player at WPI, I matured on and off the court under the guidance of Coach Bartley, and I look forward to doing the same as a Coach. I know first-hand the high degree of professionalism and integrity that the WPI Men’s Basketball program operates with. This truly is an environment for success that I am very much looking forward to being a part of."
Flynn played his high school basketball at Hamilton-Wenham Regional High School, where he was captain, leading scorer, and Cape Ann League All-Star his senior season.
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