Wichita State basketball’s new strength and conditioning coach comes from the US Army
In the first head strength and conditioning coach hire in nearly four decades, Wichita State has turned to the military for a new direction.
Ryan Horn, who has spent the last two years working as a Human Performance Specialist for the United States Army Special Operations Command, is expected to be named the head strength and conditioning coach at WSU on Friday, a source in the athletic department confirmed to The Eagle.
Horn will replace longtime coach Kerry Rosenboom, who has served in the position since 1987 and is resigning after 35 years this spring. Horn is expected to work primarily with the WSU men’s basketball program and will begin work later this month, just in time for summer workouts with the men’s basketball players beginning in June.
Although he’s spent the last two years working with the U.S. Army, Horn has a wealth of experience at a relatively young age as a strength and conditioning coach in a college setting.
He was the strength and conditioning coach of preference for former head men’s basketball coach Danny Manning, who worked with Horn at Tulsa and then brought Horn with him to Wake Forest as the director of athletic performance for men’s basketball.
Horn also worked five seasons as an associate head strength and conditioning coach at VCU from 2007-11, where he was responsible working directly with the soccer programs, men’s track and field, field hockey and golf and assisting with the basketball teams. After spending three seasons at Tulsa from 2011-14, where he worked with both basketball teams, softball, women’s soccer and assisted with football, Horn worked at Wake Forest from 2014-20 until Manning was fired following the 2019-20 season.
During his time training men’s basketball players under Manning, Horn helped Tulsa win the 2014 Conference USA regular-season and tournament championships — the program’s first in more than a decade — and helped Wake Forest return to the NCAA Tournament in 2017. During his seven seasons at Wake Forest, Horn helped develop 2017 NBA first-round draft pick John Collins, as well other standouts like Jaylen Hoard and Olivier Sarr.
He is an approved mentor and strength and conditioning coach certified through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association, while he is also a certified Sports Performance Coach through USA Weightlifting and a Level 1 Track and Field Coach through USA Track and Field.
Horn, who hails from Inwood, West Virginia, graduated from Shepherd University with a bachelor’s degree in exercise science in 2007 and completed his Master’s degree through the VCU Center for Sports Leadership in 2008. He is a former college football player, playing fullback for one year at East Stroudsburg and three years at James Madison. Horn and his wife, Ashley, have two children: a son, Landon, and a daughter, Addison.
This story was originally published May 6, 2022 at 8:56 AM.
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