Ryan Owens 2025-26 Men's Basketball Staff

Glenn & Stacey Murphy Head Men’s Basketball Coach Micah Shrewsberry rounded out his coaching staff at Notre Dame with the hiring of Ryan Owens at the end of May of 2023. A leader, a developer and relationship builder, Owens is an Indiana basketball guy through and through. He brings over two decades of experience as a player, business manager, college coach and AAU coach.

Owens begins year three with the Irish for the 2025-26 season. 

“Ryan is an Indiana guy and understands what basketball means in this state. His relationships with High School and AAU coaches throughout the country will make him a valuable asset to our team. He is a relationship builder who brings passion and energy on a daily basis. His experiences as a player, coach, and business owner will be really helpful as he helps mentor our student-athletes during their Notre Dame journey,” Shrewsberry stated.

Coach Owens trademark of relationship building paid off in year two when the staff signed Notre Dame’s highest-rated recruiting class in the modern era – a consensus top-10 amongst all major recruiting sites: Tommy Ahneman, Ryder Frost, Jalen Haralson and Brady Koehler. In addition, Jalen Haralson became the highest rated prospect to commit to the Irish in the modern era – a consensus five-star recruit and top-rated player in the state of Indiana.

Year one in South Bend was about establishing the right culture with one of the youngest teams in the ACC. It was a program that returned 1.6 percent of scoring from a year prior and was projected to finish last in the ACC. The result was a Notre Dame squad hitting its stride in the final month of play. The Irish doubled its ACC win total from the previous year, finishing 7-13, which included wins over Virginia and Clemson. In fact, the Irish were in 18 games decided by 10 points or less, giving every league opponent its best shot.

Owens’ path started as a student-athlete at the University of Southern Indiana where he was Team Captain and Defensive Player of the Year. He later went on to earn his Master’s at Indiana State University. 

“I’ve been in the basketball business for a long time, there aren’t too many more respected coaches in the industry than Coach Shrews. So when Coach called me, it was a no-brainer,” Owens said. “I believe in Coach Shrews and love what he’s about as a person. It’s an unbelievable opportunity for me and my family to represent such a highly respected academic institution like Notre Dame that has such a rich basketball history.” 

Owens served as an Assistant Coach at DePauw University from 2002-05. There, he spearheaded the recruiting efforts and also managed all areas of player and program development. In his first year, DePauw won the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship. 

Owens has had his pulse on the Indiana high school basketball scene ever since. He has served coaching stints with the Indiana Elite AAU program out of Indianapolis and the Indy Heat EYBL 17U squad.

He also assisted countless high school basketball athletes in continuing their dreams at the collegiate level and securing athletic scholarships. Case in point, when he created the Sneakers for Santa Basketball event which showcased the state’s top recruits. And when Owens wasn’t mentoring the Indiana youth, he was excelling in other venues. For example, when he served as the Adidas Group manager of NBA Team Services.