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Ryan Odom

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Ryan Odom
Odom in 2023
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamVCU
ConferenceAtlantic 10
Record34–17 (.667)
Biographical details
Born (1974-07-11) July 11, 1974 (age 50)
Durham, North Carolina, U.S.
Playing career
1992–1996Hampden–Sydney
Position(s)Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1996–1997South Florida (GA)
1997–1999Furman (assistant)
1999–2000UNC Asheville (assistant)
2000–2003American (assistant)
2003–2010Virginia Tech (assistant)
2010–2015Charlotte (assistant / associate HC)
2015Charlotte (interim HC)
2015–2016Lenoir–Rhyne
2016–2021UMBC
2021–2023Utah State
2023–presentVCU
Head coaching record
Overall204–123 (.624)
Tournaments1–2 (NCAA Division I)
2–1 (NCAA Division II)
2–2 (NIT)
3–1 (CIT)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
America East tournament (2018)
America East regular season (2021)
Awards
Hugh Durham Award (2018)
America East Coach of the Year (2021)

Robert Ryan Odom (born July 11, 1974)[1] is an American men's college basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the VCU Rams men's basketball team. He was previously the head coach of the Lenoir–Rhyne Bears, the UMBC Retrievers,[2] and the Utah State Aggies.[3]

Odom served as the interim head coach of the Charlotte 49ers men's basketball team from January 6 until March 15, 2015. In this capacity, he replaced Alan Major when Major went on a medical leave of absence to deal with chronic health issues.[4]

After one season as head coach at Lenoir–Rhyne, Odom was head coach at UMBC from 2016 to 2021. In the 2018 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Tournament, UMBC upset no. 1 seed Virginia and became the first no. 16 seed to beat a no. 1 seed in NCAA Division I men's tournament history. In 2021, Odom became head coach at Utah State.

Playing career

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Odom graduated from Richard J. Reynolds High School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, in 1992 and enrolled at Hampden–Sydney College out of high school.[1] Odom was a four-year starting point guard for the Hampden–Sydney Tigers under head coach Tony Shaver, serving as team captain his senior year. He left the Tigers ranking the school's all-time leader in three-point field goals, and fourth in assists.[5] Odom graduated from Hampden–Sydney in 1996 with a degree in economics.[1]

Coaching career

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Odom began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at South Florida. He also had stops as an assistant coach with Furman, UNC Asheville, and American, before spending seven years on Seth Greenberg's staff at Virginia Tech. In 2010, he joined the coaching staff of Charlotte, serving as an assistant for five years, including being interim head coach.

Odom was relieved of his coaching duties on March 16, 2015 when Major and the university mutually agreed to part ways, and his staff was not retained. Odom compiled an overall record of 8–11 as Charlotte's interim coach.[6]

After Charlotte, Odom accepted the job at Lenoir-Rhyne, leading the Bears to the Quarterfinals of the NCAA Division II tournament in his only season at the helm, before accepting the head coaching position at Division I UMBC, replacing Aki Thomas.

UMBC

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In his first season at the helm of the Retrievers, Odom orchestrated a 14-win improvement over the team's 7–25 season the previous year to a 21–13 overall record, and fifth-place finish in the America East Conference. The 21 wins are second-most in school history. For its efforts, UMBC accepted a bid to the 2017 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament, where it won its first round matchup against Fairfield for the first postseason win in program history. From there the Retrievers defeated St. Francis (PA) in the second round and advanced past Liberty in the CIT quarterfinals before falling to Texas A&M–Corpus Christi in the semifinals.

The 2017–18 regular season saw the Retrievers finish in second place in the America East, with a 12–4 record, and earning the conference's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament when it knocked off Vermont 65–62 in the 2018 America East men's basketball tournament final, earning its second-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.[7] During the 2018 NCAA tournament, the Retrievers became the first #16 men's seed ever to defeat a #1 seed in the first round with a 74–54 victory over Virginia.[8] After the historic win, the Retrievers lost in the second round to Kansas State, 50–43.[9] The following season, Odom led the Retrievers to another 20-win season and another appearance in the 2019 America East tournament final, where it fell to Vermont. In his final year at UMBC, Odom guided the Retrievers to a share of the America East regular season crown for the first time since 2008.[10]

Utah State

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On April 5, 2021, Odom was announced as the head coach at Utah State.[11][12]

VCU

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Odom was named the 13th men’s basketball coach for Virginia Commonwealth University on March 29, 2023. [13]

Personal life

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Odom was born in Durham, North Carolina.[1] The son of former East Carolina, Wake Forest, and South Carolina head coach Dave Odom, he is married and has two children.[14]

His son Connor, who played for him at Utah State and VCU, was one of two recipients of the United States Basketball Writers Association's Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award in 2023.[a] Connor received the award for his advocacy on mental health issues after going public with his own struggles with anxiety and obsessive–compulsive disorder following a teenage bout with Lyme disease. He shared the award with Saint Louis' Terrence Hargrove, another player who openly discussed his own mental health issues.[15]

Head coaching record

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Statistics overview
Season Team Overall Conference Standing Postseason
Charlotte 49ers (Conference USA) (2015)
2014–15* Charlotte* 8–11* 7–11* 11th*
Charlotte: 8–11 (.421) 7–11 (.389)
Lenoir–Rhyne Bears (South Atlantic Conference) (2015–2016)
2015–16 Lenoir–Rhyne 21–10 14–8 4th NCAA Division II Sweet 16
Lenoir–Rhyne: 21–10 (.677) 14–8 (.636)
UMBC Retrievers (America East Conference) (2016–2021)
2016–17 UMBC 21–13 9–7 5th CIT semifinal
2017–18 UMBC 25–11 12–4 2nd NCAA Division I Round of 32
2018–19 UMBC 21–13 11–5 3rd
2019–20 UMBC 16–17 8–8 4th No postseason held
2020–21 UMBC 14–6 10–4 T–1st
UMBC: 97–60 (.618) 50–28 (.641)
Utah State Aggies (Mountain West Conference) (2021–2023)
2021–22 Utah State 18–16 8–10 7th NIT first round
2022–23 Utah State 26–9 13–5 T–2nd NCAA Division I Round of 64
Utah State: 44–25 (.638) 21–15 (.583)
VCU Rams (Atlantic 10 Conference) (2023–present)
2023–24 VCU 24–14 11–7 T–4th NIT Quarterfinals
2024–25 VCU 10–3 0–0
VCU: 34–17 (.667) 11–7 (.611)
Total: 204–123 (.624)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

*Charlotte head coach Alan Major took an indefinite leave of absence due to medical reasons on January 6, 2015. Charlotte's record at the time was 6–7 (0–1 C-USA).

Footnotes

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  1. ^ The USBWA presents separate versions of this award in men's and women's college basketball; the women's version is titled the Pat Summitt Most Courageous Award.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d "Ryan Odom" (PDF). Virginia Tech 2005-06 Basketball. Virginia Tech. 2005. p. 29. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  2. ^ "UMBC Names Ryan Odom as New Head Coach for Men's Basketball". 30 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Ryan Odom - Head Coach - Utah State Aggies". Utah State Athletics.
  4. ^ Scott, David (6 January 2015). "Charlotte 49ers coach Alan Major taking indefinite medical leave of absence". Charlotte Observer. Retrieved 7 January 2015.
  5. ^ Woody, Paul. "Ryan Odom knows not just anyone can whistle like Tony Shaver".
  6. ^ [1] C49ers and Alan Major Mutually Agree to Part Ways
  7. ^ "UMBC stuns UVM basketball with buzzer-beater for America East championship".
  8. ^ "No. 16 UMBC etches name in sports lore, routs No. 1 Virginia". Associated Press. 20 April 2021.
  9. ^ "Underdog UMBC falls to Kansas State 50-43". USA Today.
  10. ^ "UMBC Begins Search for Next Men's Basketball Coach as Ryan Odom Accepts Position at Utah State". UMBC Athletics. 5 April 2021.
  11. ^ "Ryan Odom Named Utah State Head Men's Basketball Coach". Utah State Athletics.
  12. ^ Miller, Ryan. "Utah State names UMBC's Ryan Odom as new men's basketball coach". ksl.com. Retrieved April 5, 2021.
  13. ^ "Ryan Odom Named VCU Men's Basketball Coach". vcualthletics.com. Retrieved March 21, 2024.
  14. ^ "Ryan Odom". Utah State University. Retrieved February 26, 2023.
  15. ^ "Hargrove, Odom to receive Perry Wallace Most Courageous Award" (Press release). United States Basketball Writers Association. February 28, 2023. Retrieved February 28, 2023.
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