DAYTON, OHIO – FEBRUARY 07: Head coach Ryan Odom of the VCU Rams looks on in the second half against … More
In 2018, Ryan Odom led UMBC to the first ever No. 16 upset of a No. 1 in the NCAA Tournament.
That No. 1 was Virginia.
Now Odom is the head coach of the Cavaliers after the school officially named its new men’s basketball coach on Saturday. Odom signed a six-year deal, per ESPN. He had also been linked to the Villanova opening.
Odom, 50, spent the last two seasons at VCU, leading the Rams to a 52-21 record and an appearance in the 2025 NCAA Tournament, where they lost to BYU in the first round. VCU won the 2025 Atlantic-10 Tournament and shared the A-10 regular-season championship.
Virginia is Odom’s fifth stint as a collegiate head coach. Over the past 10 seasons he has compiled a career record of 222-127 including stops at Utah State (2021-23), UMBC (2017-2021), Lenoir-Rhyne (2016) and Charlotte (2015, interim head coach). Like VCU, Odom led his Utah State and UMBC teams to the NCAA Tournament during the second season at those schools.
Odom’s appointment is a homecoming of sorts. He grew up in Charlottesville (third through 10th grades) while his father, Dave Odom, served as an assistant basketball coach on Terry Holland’s staff from 1982 to 1989. Odom frequently rode his bicycle to practices at University Hall and served as a ball boy for Cavalier home games.
Odom’s start in coaching features another UVA connection. His first position was as an administrative assistant at South Florida for head coach Seth Greenberg. Greenberg was a one-time Virginia assistant who also coached under Holland. When Greenberg first arrived in Charlottesville, he temporarily lived in the Odom’s home. Odom later coached on Greenberg’s staff at Virginia Tech (2004-2010).
Odom’s first season at VCU produced a 24-14 record and saw the Rams reach the Atlantic-10 championship game. The team advanced to the NIT quarterfinals, picking up road wins at Villanova and South Florida during the postseason. This season’s 28-7 VCU squad featured the A-10 player of the year and the conference tournament’s MVP.
Odom assumed the reigns of the VCU program following two seasons at Utah State that produced a 44-25 record. In 2022-23, he led the Aggies to a 26-9 mark and the first round of the NCAA Tournament. That season the Aggies ranked 16th nationally in offense,
In his first season at Utah State, Odom led the Aggies to an 18-16 overall record and an at-large berth to the NIT.
Just like VCU and Utah State, Odom had an immediate impact at UMBC during his inaugural season in 2016-17. The team produced a 14-win improvement over its previous campaign. Prior to his arrival, UMBC had endured eight consecutive losing seasons and had failed to reach double digit wins in seven straight years.
Odom steered the Retrievers to three straight 20-win campaigns, including a school-record 25 victories in 2017-18. His 2016-17 squad advanced to the CollegeBasketballInsider.com (CIT) semifinals, becoming the first America East team to ever win three games in a single postseason. At the end of the season, Odom received the 2017 Joe B. Hall Award, which is presented annually to the top first-year coach in Division I.
In five seasons at UMBC, Odom’s teams were 97-60 and won the 2018 America East Tournament Championship, as well as a 2021 regular season crown. For his efforts, Odom was named the 2021 America East Conference and the NABC District 1 Coach of the Year.
In 2015-16 at Division II Lenoir-Rhyne, Odom led the Bears to a 21-10 mark – a 13-win improvement — and the school’s first-ever NCAA Sweet 16 appearance. The Bears led the nation in three-point field goals made per game (12.4) and finished ninth in the country in scoring at 90.1 points per game that season.
Odom was an assistant coach at Charlotte for five seasons (2011-15) and served as the 49ers interim head coach for the final 19 games of the 2014-15 campaign. In 2013, he helped Charlotte earn a bid to the postseason NIT.
Prior to his tenure in Charlotte, Odom spent seven years (2004-10) on the coaching staff at Virginia Tech and was part of a Hokies’ team that earned a berth to the NCAA Tournament in 2007 and beat Illinois in the first round.
Odom was also an assistant coach at American for three years (2001-03), at UNC Asheville for one season (2000) and at Furman for two years (1998-99). He also served as an administrative assistant at South Florida for one season (1997).
Odom graduated from Hampden-Sydney in 1996 with a bachelor’s degree in economics and was a four-year starting point guard on the men’s basketball team. He served as team captain his senior season and led Hampden-Sydney to an 80-30 record during his playing career, including two berths in the NCAA Division III Tournament. In addition, Odom finished his career as the school’s all-time leader in 3-pointers made and placed fourth in assists.
Ryan is the son of Dave Odom, who retired in 2008 as the head coach at South Carolina. The elder Odom earned SEC Coach of the Year honors while at South Carolina in 2004 and ACC Coach of the Year honors in 1991,1994 and 1995, while at Wake Forest.
