Success has followed new Wisconsin men's soccer assistant coach Ryan Osborne everywhere he's coached, including Mercyhurst, the place he spent the last three and a half years as head coach before joining Wisconsin.
Osborne led Mercyhurst to a 19-1-1 record in 2022, helping it win the PSAC Tournament Championship and a 10-0-0 regular-season conference mark to claim the top spot in the league. The school's historic season continued into the 2023 NCAA Division II Tournament where it earned a No. 3 seed and a home game. The program ranked as high as No. 2 during the season.
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Osborne and his staff were named 2022 Atlantic Region Staff of the Year by the United Soccer Coaches Association. The staff also helped the team average 3.5 goals per game, scoring 74 goals to rank third in the nation. It let up just 0.3 goals per game with a national-low total of six goals allowed. The Lakers' 68 goal differential ranked third in the nation, while their .903 save percentage led the country.
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Mercyhurst saw three players become DII CCA All-Americans, four named to the DII CCA All-Atlantic Team and seven earn All-PSAC honors.
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In three-plus seasons under Osborne, Mercyhurst went 37-5-3, including 17-1-2 in conference play. He started at MU in January of 2020 before COVID-19 hit and directed the team to a 6-0-0 mark in exhibition games during the spring of 2021. That fall, the Lakers posted a 12-4-2 record.
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He boasts a pair of PSAC West Coach of the Year honors from 2021 and 2022.
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Before Mercyhurst, Osborne spent time at Notre Dame College in Ohio as associate head coach where he helped the Falcons to a No. 23 national ranking and a total of 47 victories in four seasons. The 2018 team reached the NCAA tournament. He also spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Marietta College.
The Wakefield, England, native got his coaching start as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, the University of Charleston. As a player, he was twice named to the Daktronics All-Region team and an All-WVIAC honor in 2011. During his time with the program, the team won four consecutive regular-season and conference tournament titles.
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He continued his playing career with the West Virginia Chaos of the Premier Development League (PDL) in 2014, winning the South Atlantic Division as both a forward and attacking midfielder. He competed with the Barnsley FC program as a youth.
Osborne also spent two years as head coach of Cleveland SC (2018-19) in the National Premier Soccer League, directing the squad to a 15-5-2 record and a national final four appearance.
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He earned his degree in physical education in 2013 and a master's degree in strategic leadership in 2014 from Charleston.
