Ryan Madry is entering his ninth season as a member of Herb Sendek's coaching staff in 2026-27. He was promoted to Associate Head Coach in July 2025 after serving as an assistant coach for the previous seven seasons.
Santa Clara has posted a winning record in each of Madry’s eight years on staff – the program’s longest winning streak of the modern era and second-longest in school history (1933-34 – 1942-43). During that stretch, SCU has posted 20 or more wins in each of the last five seasons and six times overall since 2019-20.
The last five seasons in particular have been among the greatest stretches in program history with one NCAA Tournament appearance, three trips to the National Invitation Tournament and three NBA Draft first round selections. The Broncos have posted 111 total victories with 58 conference wins since 2021-22 – both are the most in a five-year stretch in program history.Â
Santa Clara is in elite company as one of just six programs to produce a top-20 pick in at least three of the last five NBA Drafts dating back to 2022, joining Arizona, Baylor, Duke, Kansas and Kentucky. Madry was the primary recruiter for two of those selections – Brandin Podziemski (19th overall in 2023) and Allen Graves (19th overall in 2026). In total, SCU has produced four NBA players under Madry’s tenure, including 2025 NBA Champion Jalen Williams and free agent Adama-Alpha Bal.
In addition to the NBA selections, Madry has had a hand in coaching 15 players that have earned a total of 21 all-conference honors, including nine First Team All-WCC selections and six NABC All-Region honorees.
Madry and the Broncos are coming off one of the most successful seasons in program history. The 2025-26 Broncos posted 26 wins (second-most in school history) with 15 wins coming in conference play (most in program history) en route to their first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1996. Extending their 20-win streak to five consecutive years, SCU finished third in the WCC standings to also extend their streak of finishing in the top four of the standings to five-straight years. The Broncos had a top-40 scoring offense nationally (82.9 ppg) and ranked fifth nationally in scoring in conference play at 87.2 ppg. The team posted a 14-1 record inside the Leavey Center, including a 13-game winning streak to begin the year, which is tied for the third-longest home win streak in program history. The Broncos earned a 3-seed in the WCC Championship and knocked off No. 21 Saint Mary's in the semifinal to advance to the championship final for the first time since 2007. SCU then put a stamp on the season by earning a 10-seed for the 2026 NCAA Tournament and putting together an outstanding effort in the opening round against 7-seed Kentucky before falling in overtime. Three Broncos - Allen Graves, Christian Hammond and Elijah Mahi - earned First Team All-WCC honors as well as NABC All-District accolades. Graves, who was recruited out of high school by Madry primarily, had a banner season in which he earned both WCC Freshman and Sixth Man of the Year honors before being selected 19th overall by the Toronto Raptors in the 2026 NBA Draft. Â
In 2024-25, the Broncos won 12 conference games (most since 1994-95) and extended their streak of 20-win seasons to a program-record four straight years with a 21-13 overall record. Santa Clara finished inside the top four of the the WCC standings for the fourth-consecutive year and received a bid to play in the NIT as a 2-seed. The Broncos won the first game of the NIT for their first win in the tournament since 1984. Madry helped develop three All-WCC selections, including first team honoree Adama-Alpha Bal, who earned first team honors for the second-straight year. Santa Clara has had at least one First Team honoree in five-straight seasons - their longest such streak since 2004-05 through 2008-09.Â
2023-24 saw the Broncos extend their streak of 20-win seasons to three straight with a 20-13 record, which featured a 3-1 mark against Pac-12 opponents and the team's first victory over Gonzaga (ranked 22nd nationally) since 2011. Santa Clara finished inside the top four of the WCC standings for the third-straight year and advanced to the WCC Championship semifinal round. Madry had a hand in the development in four all-conference players, including first team honoree Adama-Alpha Bal. Â
2022-23 was among the most memorable seasons of the modern era for Santa Clara with the Broncos winning 23 games (fourth-most in program history), finishing third in the WCC standings for the second-straight season with an 11-5 record (most league wins since 1994-94), a seven-game win streak to close the regular season (longest since 1997-98), a second-straight postseason bid to the NIT, and producing the Co-Player of the Year in the WCC in Podziemski. Podziemski, one of three all-conference players that Madry had a hand in developing, including Carlos Stewart and Keshawn Justice, was also the league's Newcomer of the Year and an all-region selection.Â
In 2021-22, Madry helped the Broncos reach the postseason for the first time since 2012-13. The Broncos posted 21 wins for their second 20-win campaign in the last three seasons, the first time that the program has achieved that since 2010-11 through 2012-13, en route to being selected to the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) for just the fifth-time in program history. The historic year saw Santa Clara pick up their first win over a ranked opponent since 2004 (over No. 22 Saint Mary's) and first win over BYU since 2017 as three players were selected to All-WCC squad. Jalen Williams and Josip Vrankic were first team selections while Keshawn Justice was a second team pick. Williams in particular had a season to remember, becoming the first Bronco since 2016-17 to earn all-region honors after finishing as the WCC's second-leading scorer at 18.0 ppg. Santa Clara's 10 wins in league play were their most since Herb Sendek's first season in 2016-17. The Broncos finished the year ranked 11th nationally in field goal percentage (48.4) and 16th in 3-point shooting percentage (37.8).Â
Williams would go on to be selected 12th overall in the 2022 NBA Draft by the Oklahoma City Thunder, becoming Santa Clara's highest draft pick of the modern era and second-highest pick of all time. He was Santa Clara's first draft pick since 1996 when Steve Nash was picked 15th overall. Of course, Williams would soon prove to be among the top players in the NBA, earning a spot as an NBA All Star and being named Third Team All-NBA and Second Team All-Defense en route to winning the 2025 NBA Championship in just his third year in the league.Â
In 2018-19, he was part of a Santa Clara coaching staff which helped the team traverse through injuries to six players to post a 16-15 overall mark, including two wins over Pac-12 schools (USC and Washington State) for the first time since 1997-98. With a starting lineup that featured two sophomores (Tahj Eaddy and Josip Vrankic) and two freshmen (Trey Wertz and Guglielmo Caruso), the Broncos still finished tied for fifth in the WCC. Wertz was voted to the WCC All-Freshman team, Eaddy earned second-team honors and Vrankic was all-league honorable mention.
A Bay Area native, Madry (m-AE-dree) spent the 2017-18 as an assistant coach at Seattle University after a six-year stint at UC Santa Barbara.
During his season at Seattle, the team finished 20-14 and reached the Western Athletic Conference tournament semifinals en route to a spot in the College Basketball Invitational Tournament. The win total marked a program high since returning to Division I status in 2008-09.
While at UC Santa Barbara, the program won 19-plus games in four seasons with three of those concluding with a postseason trip.
Madry, who was hired at Santa Clara in May 2018, began a stretch of four straight years working in the Bay Area in 2006-07 when he served as assistant coach at West Valley College in Saratoga. The following season he was elevated to head coach.
He spent two years (2008-10) as the video coordinator at San Francisco before serving as the director of basketball operations at Cal State Fullerton in 2010-11.
Madry played two seasons at West Valley College before concluding his collegiate career at the University of West Georgia, where he served as co-captain as a senior in 2004-05. He earned his bachelor's degree in sports management from West Georgia in 2006.
Madry's first coaching experience came in 2005-06 with West Georgia as a graduate assistant.
He hails from Oakland where he played at Bishop O’Dowd High School.
Madry and his wife, Katherine, have one daughter, Skylar, and two sons, Caden and Killian.
