Utah head women’s basketball coach Gavin Petersen announced the addition of Ryan Larsen, filling the vacant assistant coach position.
“I’ve known Ryan [Larsen] for years and have always respected him and the job he has done coaching,” Petersen said. “His experience, professionalism, knowledge of the game, and his work ethic are some of the qualities that made him the right person for this job. The fact that this was a difficult decision for him and his wife (Juli) to make considering the timing of all of this, shows how genuine and loyal a person, coach and friend he truly is. We are so lucky to have him in our Utah Family.”
Larsen joins Utah from the University of Wyoming where he was in his third season as associate head coach and sixth season overall with the Cowgirls.
In his five previous seasons at Wyoming, Larsen and the Cowgirls made four postseason trips. UW went to the NCAA Tournament in 2021 after winning the program’s first-ever Mountain West Tournament Title. In 2021-22, the Cowgirls advanced to the third round of the Women’s NIT, while in 2022-23, Wyoming finished second in the Mountain West and made an appearance in the MW Championship Game, as well as the WNIT for the second consecutive season. The 2023-24 campaign saw Wyoming make an appearance in the Great Eight Round of the WNIT. In his five seasons with the program, Larsen has helped guide 11 Cowgirls to All-Mountain West accolades.
Prior to arriving in Laramie, Larsen spent six seasons as the head coach at South Dakota School of Mines. Larsen coached five student-athletes to seven All-RMAC honors during his tenure there, while seven student-athletes earned 10 academic all-conference accolades. Larsen became the head coach of the Hardrockers after serving five years as an assistant women’s basketball coach at the University of South Dakota.
In his role as an assistant for the Coyotes, Larsen was the recruiting coordinator, scouting director and coached the guards and posts. The Coyotes competed in two consecutive postseason tournaments, making trips to the Women’s Basketball Invitational and the WNIT.
Before his time at South Dakota, Larsen was a member of the Augustana (S.D.) College men’s basketball staff from 2002-07. Along with his coaching duties, Larsen was also the recruiting coordinator for three seasons. During that time, he recruited three student-athletes who earned Player of the Year honors from their respective states.
From 1999-02, Larsen was at Minnesota State-Moorhead. In the 2001-02 season, the team posted its best record in nine years and was ranked in the North Central Region for the first time in program history. Larsen graduated from MSU Moorhead, earning his degree in 2002. He obtained his master’s degree from Augustana in 2004.
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