Ryan Cross begins his eighth season on the ULM men’s basketball staff and his second as associate head coach in 2019-20. Cross brings with him 19 years of collegiate coaching experience.
Cross has played an integral role in helping the Warhawks to two 20-win seasons and four trips to postseason play in the last five years.
In 2018-19, Cross helped the Warhawks make their second straight postseason appearance, as ULM advanced to the CollegeInsider.com Tournament quarterfinals. The Warhawks averaged 79.2 points per game, the most by a ULM squad since 1993-94.
In 2017-18, Cross helped guide ULM back to the postseason, as the Warhawks made an appearance in the CIT. Following the season, he was promoted to associate head coach.
In 2015-16, for the fourth straight season, Cross saw the Warhawks improve their conference win total from the previous year. He's also helped coach the Warhawks to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time since 1989-90, 90-91 and also consecutive postseason appearances.
After the 2015-16 campaign, Cross was named the 13th-best recruiter in the country among Mid-Major Assistant Coaches by CoachStat.net. He was the highest ranked assistant coach from the state of Louisiana and one of three from the Sun Belt Conference.
“I have known for a long time how good a recruiter Ryan is,” said ULM head coach Keith Richard. “This recognition is well-deserved. His recruiting efforts have been a huge part of helping us rebuild this program.”
Cross has been instrumental in recruiting and has significantly expanded ULM’s prospect pool by tapping into international players. Three international players have led the team in scoring in four of the last five seasons –Tylor Ongwae, Majok Deng and Travis Munnings – and each has earned All-Conference honors. Cross has also recruited seven All-Conference players in the last six years, to go with a Sun Belt Defensive Player of the Year (Justin Roberson), a Sun Belt Freshman of the Year (Mike Ertel), and a Sun Belt Newcomer of the Year (Daishon Smith).
Cross joined the Warhawk staff in March 2012 after one season as an assistant coach at Bossier Parish Community College. Prior to Bossier, Cross was the head coach at Caldwell Parish High School, where he guided the Spartans to a 109-57 overall record and four straight state playoff appearances.
Cross served on Richard’s staff as an assistant coach at Louisiana Tech from 2003-06 and previously had head coaching stints at Chipola Junior College (1999-03) and Barton County Community College (1998-99).
In his four seasons at Chipola, Cross guided the Indians to an 80-42 overall record and produced many Division I prospects. In one season as the head coach at Barton County, Cross led the team to a 35-3 record and a trip to the NJCAA national championship game. Cross was named the 1999 NABC National Junior College Coach of the Year and also the 1999 Kansas Jayhawk Conference Coach of the Year.
Cross began his coaching career as an assistant coach at Barton County from 1996-98. He also spent the 1995-96 season as a graduate assistant coach at his alma mater Buffalo.
He played basketball at the University of Buffalo (1992-95), where he earned his bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1995. Cross earned his master’s degree in higher education administration from Fort Hays State in 2000.
Cross and his wife, Karen, have four daughters, Taylor, Kelsy, Amber and Kendall.
