Completed Event: Women's Basketball versus UCF on January 31, 2026 , Win , 65, to, 52
Final
Women's Basketball
65
UCF
52
Iowa State University Athletics
Emily Ryan Elevated to Assistant Coach
05.21.2026 | Women's Basketball
AMES, Iowa – Iowa State women's basketball head coach Bill Fennelly announced the promotion of Emily Ryan to assistant coach ahead of the 2026-27 season. Ryan spent the 2025-26 season on the bench as a graduate assistant following a historic five-year career on the hardwood as the Cyclones' point guard (2020-25).
"I am excited to announce that Emily Ryan will be elevated to the position of full-time assistant coach," said Fennelly. "Emily made a tremendous impact on our program as a player and that will continue as a coach. Emily's loyalty and commitment to Iowa State women's basketball has been truly special. Our players will be learning the Iowa State Way from one of the best Cyclones ever!"
Ryan mentored Cyclone point guards last season after spending five years running Fennelly's system on the court. She finished her playing career as one of the best point guards in Iowa State history, recording top five all-time marks in assists, steals and blocks. The Claflin, Kansas native set the program record for assists by over 200 dimes and ranked seventh all-time in NCAA women's basketball history with 993 assists at the time of her graduation. Her 1,632 points rank 12th all-time at ISU and she was just the third NCAA women's basketball player to record at least 1,500 points, 900 assists and 600 rebounds in a career.
Ryan helped Iowa State to five NCAA Tournaments as a player, including the most recent Sweet 16 appearance in 2022, and one during her graduate assistantship. In Iowa State's run to the 2023 Phillips 66 Big 12 Women's Basketball Championship, Ryan passed out a team-high 15 assists through three games while averaging 9.0 points and 5.7 rebounds per game.
In five seasons running point for the Cyclones, Ryan was a three-time All-Big 12 honoree, a 2024 Big 12 All-Tournament Team member, a three-time Naismith Trophy watch list member, 2025 Wooden Award watch list member and a two-time Nancy Lieberman Award watch list member. For her excellence both on the court and in the classroom, she was voted a College Sports Communicators (CSC) Third Team Academic All-American in 2024-25. Ryan received her bachelor's degree in kinesiology from Iowa State University.
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