Ryan Odom, who authored one of the greatest victories in NCAA Tournament history, was named the 13
th men’s basketball coach in VCU history on March 29, 2023.
“We welcome Ryan Odom as our next basketball coach with great excitement about our future,” VCU Vice President and Director of Athletics Ed McLaughlin said. “Ryan has won at every stop along his coaching journey and has done it with a player-centered approach that develops them into young men who will succeed in the world. He has won conference championships, won in the NCAA Tournament and raised the standard at every program through integrity, empathy and appreciation. We know that Ryan will continue to build sustainable national success that will take our next step toward winning a national championship and we look forward to having Lucia and the boys as part of Ram Nation.”
Despite a complete roster overhaul, Odom led the Rams to a 24-14 mark in his first season in 2023-24, including a berth in the Atlantic 10 Conference Championship Game. Odom's VCU squad later advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals, following road wins at Villanova and South Florida.
Odom assumed the reigns of the VCU program following two seasons at Utah State, where he led the Aggies to a 26-9 mark and the first round of the NCAA Tournament in 2022-23. Odom, whose career also includes an unforgettable five-year tenure at UMBC, is 170-106 overall in eight-plus seasons as a head coach.
“Lucia and I could not be more excited about joining the VCU and greater Richmond communities. We look forward to continuing the incredible tradition of excellence that VCU Basketball has embodied for many years. We are humbled with the honor of leading this outstanding program and will fight each day to produce a program our university, alumni and fans can be extremely proud to call their own. I would like to particularly thank Dr. Michael Rao and Ed McLaughlin for their belief in me and for this wonderful opportunity. We cannot wait to join this tremendous community and begin to work to enhance this incredible program.”
A North Carolina native, Odom and UMBC made history in 2018, when he steered the Retrievers to a 74-54 victory over No. 1 overall seed Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament – the first win by a No. 16 seed over a No. 1 seed in history. He led UMBC to a 97-60 mark in five seasons, a tenure that included a 2018 America East Tournament Championship, as well as a 2021 regular season crown. For his efforts, Odom was named the 2021 America East Conference and the NABC District 1 Coach of the Year.
Odom took over the UMBC program in 2016-17 and sparked an immediate 14-win improvement. Prior to Odom’s arrival, UMBC had endured eight consecutive losing seasons and had failed to reach double digit wins in seven straight years. Odom promptly steered the Retrievers to three straight 20-win campaign, including a school-record 25 victories in 2017-18. His 2016-17 squad advanced to the CollegeBasketballInsider.com (CIT) semifinals, becoming the first America East team to ever win three games in a single postseason. At the end of the season, Odom received the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I.
In 2022-23 at Utah State, Odom’s high-powered offense, which ranked 16
th nationally, spurred the Aggies to 26 victories, including a 13-5 mark in a Mountain West Conference that saw four teams reach the NCAA Tournament. Utah State advanced to the Mountain West Championship Game before falling to eventual Final Four qualifier San Diego State 62-57. Utah State, rated 18th in the NCAA’s NET rankings, earned an at-large berth to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 10 seed in the South Region.
In his first season at Utah State, Odom led the Aggies to an 18-16 overall record, including 8-10 in MW play, and their fourth-straight NCAA postseason berth as USU hosted Oregon as an at-large seed in the opening round of the NIT. Four Utah State players earned All-Mountain West Conference honors during his two-year tenure, including 2023 First Team selection Steven Ashworth and Sixth Man of the Year Dan Akin. Odom was 44-25 in two seasons with the Aggies.
In 2020-21, Odom led UMBC to a 14-6 record, including a 10-4 league mark, which earned the Retrievers to a share of the America East regular-season title and the No. 1 seed in the league’s championship tournament. In 2018-19, UMBC advanced to the championship game of the America East Tournament after posting a 21-13 record, including an 11-5 conference mark, for its third-straight 20-win season.
In his second year at UMBC, Odom and the Retrievers posted a 25-11 record, including a 12-4 league mark, to finish second in the America East. UMBC also won an America East Conference title at prohibitive favorite Vermont to set the stage for its stunning victory over Virginia in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Charlotte, N.C. That victory would receive an ESPY nomination for “Best Moment” of the year. Odom was later named the 2018 Hugh Durham Award as the nation’s top mid-major coach. During his UMBC tenure, the Retrievers collected nine All-Conference citations, including 2018 Defensive Player of the Year K.J. Maura and 2021 Sixth Man of the Year Keondre Kennedy.
He also served as head coach at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne in 2015-16 and led the Bears to a 21-10 mark – a 13-win improvement -- and the school’s first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. The Bears led the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (12.4), and finished ninth in the country in scoring at 90.1 points per game that season.
Odom was an assistant coach at Charlotte for five seasons (2011-15), and served as the 49ers interim head coach for the final 19 games of the 2014-15 campaign. In 2013, he helped Charlotte earn a bid to the postseason NIT.
Prior to his tenure in Charlotte, Odom spent seven years (2004-10) on the coaching staff at Virginia Tech and was part of a Hokies’ team that earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and beat Illinois in the first round.
Odom was also an assistant coach at American for three years (2001-03), at UNC Asheville for one season (2000) and at Furman for two years (1998-99). He also served as an administrative assistant at South Florida for one season (1997).
Odom graduated from Hampden-Sydney in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and was a four-year starting point guard on the men’s basketball team. He served as team captain his senior season and led Hampden-Sydney to an 80-30 record during his playing career, including two berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament. In addition, Odom finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made and placed fourth in assists.
Ryan is the son of Dave Odom, who retired in 2008 as the head coach at South Carolina. The elder Odom earned SEC Coach of the Year honors while at South Carolina in 2004 and ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1991,1994 and 1995, while at Wake Forest.
Odom and his wife, Lucia, have two sons - Connor and Owen.
THE RYAN ODOM FILE
2023- VCU – Head Coach (24-14)
| 2021-23 |
Utah State - Head Coach (44-25) |
| 2017-21 |
UMBC - Head Coach (97-60) |
| 2016 |
Lenoir-Rhyne (N.C.) - Head Coach (21-10) |
| 2015 |
Charlotte - Interim Head Coach (8-11) |
| 2015 |
Charlotte - Associate Head Coach |
| 2011-14 |
Charlotte - Assistant Coach |
| 2004-10 |
Virginia Tech - Assistant Coach |
| 2001-03 |
American - Assistant Coach |
| 2000 |
UNC Asheville - Assistant Coach |
| 1998-99 |
Furman - Assistant Coach |
| 1997 |
South Florida - Administrative Assistant |
Postseason Appearances (9)
NCAA Tournament (3): UMBC - 2018; Virginia Tech – 2007; Utah State - 2023
NIT Tournaments (4): VCU - 2024; Utah State – 2022; Charlotte - 2013; Virginia Tech – 2008
CIT (1): UMBC – 2017
NCAA Division II Tournaments (1): Lenoir-Rhyne – 2016
Coach of the Year Honors (4)
American East Conference (1): UMBC – 2021
NABC District 1 (1): UMBC – 2021
Hugh Durham Award (1): UMBC – 2018
Joe B. Hall Award (1): UMBC – 2017
Regular Season Conference Championships (1)
UMBC (1): America East Conference – 2021
