BRADFORD, Pa. – The University of Pittsburgh at Bradford's men's basketball program has named Ryan Shay its head coach, according to an announcement by Bret Butler, director of intercollegiate athletics.

"I am extremely excited that Coach Ryan Shay has accepted our offer to become head men's basketball coach. Ryan has a very impressive basketball background as a player at Houghton and also had two highly successful assistant coaching experiences at both Alfred University and the University of Rochester," Butler said.

"He comes highly regarded as a solid basketball teacher and recruiter, along with having a deep sense of character, which will be a valuable asset to our Athletic Department. He is ready to become a head coach and we are thrilled to have him at Pitt-Bradford." 

Shay comes to Pitt-Bradford from the University of Rochester, where he served as an assistant coach since 2014.

"I would like to thank Director of Athletics Bret Butler and the entire search committee for this incredible opportunity," Shay said. "I believe Pitt-Bradford has so much to offer its student-athletes and I'm excited to become a part of the Pitt-Bradford community that I was so impressed with during the interview process."

The Andover, N.Y., native assisted with national recruiting efforts, player development, on-court coaching and strength and conditioning, while also having a hand in all other facets of the nationally competitive Rochester program.

In his four seasons, he helped guide Rochester to a 67-37 combined record, including a trip to the Elite Eight in the 2016-17 NCAA Tournament. He also helped develop many players to All-Conference and All-Region honors highlighted by the 2016-17 D3Hoops.com East Region Player of the Year and NABC All-American Sam Borst-Smith.

Prior to starting at Rochester, Shay worked as an assistant coach at Alfred University from 2012-14 where he received a Master of Business Administration.

While at Alfred, he helped lead the Saxons to the program's first Empire 8 Tournament and was a member of the conference's Coaching Staff of the Year.

He spent his collegiate career of 2007-11 playing at Houghton College where he was a three-year starter, a 1,000-point scorer and a three-time NAIA Division II All-America Mideast Conference selection. 

Recognized for his character and academic success, Shay was a two-year captain for the Highlanders, a two-time NAIA Academic All-American and the recipient of the Ron Holmes Award, given to a player that demonstrates outstanding basketball ability, character and academic achievements at Houghton.

Shay graduated from Houghton in 2011 with bachelor's degrees in Mathematics and Business Administration while minoring in Education.

He replaces Sean Brown Sr., who served as the Panthers' head men's basketball coach for the 2017-18 season after guiding the Pitt-Bradford women's program for the two years prior.

"I look forward to building relationships with the students, faculty and staff that make Pitt-Bradford such an incredible place, and I'm eager to begin working with the men's basketball team and contributing to their development as students, athletes and people," Shay concluded.