Ryan Boatright didn’t set out to become a coach when he was running the show for UConn. Back then, the goal was the NBA, and if that didn’t happen, then at least a long run as a pro player.
He got that long career, spending more than a decade overseas before deciding about a year ago that it was time to move on from playing. Now, the former Huskies point guard is taking his first step into coaching at the University of San Francisco, where he was officially added Monday as assistant coach/director of player development.
“It was never one of my goals to be a coach, but being a point guard all my life, it was like a natural transition,” Boatright told CT Insider on Monday. “I was basically a coach on the floor, and I was close with all the coaches I’ve played for. So, it was the easiest transition, career-wise.”
Boatright, 33, was part of UConn’s 2014 national championship team with Shabazz Napier and DeAndre Daniels, and he later earned All-AAC first team honors as a senior in 2015.
After going undrafted, he had a brief stretch in the G-League before beginning a wide-ranging overseas career that included stops in Spain, France, Lithuania, Turkiye and Iran, among other places.
He decided to retire after the 2024-25 season in Iran. Over the last year, while living in Phoenix - where he’s been based for the past six years - he started reaching out to people in search of coaching opportunities.
That included Dan Hurley and Kimani Young, though a return to UConn wasn’t ready to happen yet.
“Maybe someday down the line, after a couple of years experience, I can come home,” the Aurora, Ill. native said about Storrs. “That’s where I became a man.”
This past summer, he also took part in the coaches’ program at the NBA Top 100 camp in Rock Hill, S.C.
The path to San Francisco came together through a personal connection. Boatright’s longtime girlfriend and soon-to-be fiancée, Kayla, who graduated from the University of Hartford and met Boatright during his senior year at UConn, is close friends with USF coach Chris Gerlufsen’s wife, Ila. When one of Gerlufsen’s assistants left recently, the coach reached out and brought Boatright aboard.
Boatright was still getting overseas offers as recently as last week, but the money wasn’t enough to pull him back out of the country for another 10 months. Instead, he chose to start his next chapter in the U.S., closer to his mother, Tanesha, and his grandparents.
“It just made sense to start a new career and be home,” Boatright said. “This was the best career choice that has longevity in it. It’s something I know like the back of my hand.”
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UConn's First Road Test Could Reveal A Bigger Offensive Concern
UConns first road trip of the season brings a useful early test at Southern Miss, but it also arrives with a larger question hanging over the Huskies offense. At 1-1, they have leaned heavily on quarterback Kalieb Osborne through the opening two games, and that kind of dependence can cover up a lot when the home crowd is behind you and the season is still young.
The next step is figuring out whether the Huskies can create more balance once they leave home. Player departures have already thinned out some of the options around Osborne, and the offensive lines play will go a long way toward determining whether other pieces can be worked into the attack more consistently. If UConn is going to become harder to defend, this is the type of game where it has to start showing it. [Read more 🡒]
UConns Big East Schedule Just Set Up A Real Dan Hurley Test
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Among the highlights are a visit from St. Johns at Madison Square Garden and a pair of matchups with Villanova, the sort of dates that usually help define where a team sits in the Big East pecking order. The full schedule does not offer many easy breathers, and the way it stacks up suggests UConn will have to be sharp almost every week to stay on track in a league that rarely hands out much margin for error. [Read more 🡒]
UConn Women's Schedule Wait Matters More With This New-Look Roster
The mens Big East slate is already out, which only sharpens the wait on the womens side as UConn keeps looking for the date when its conference schedule will finally land. Based on last years rollout, it would not be a surprise if the announcement arrives soon, and the timing matters a little more than usual with this roster because the Huskies are heading into the season with a different feel.
Azzi Fudd is no longer there, and that changes the shape of things around the group even with talented pieces still in place. Sarah Strong and Blanca Quinones give UConn a foundation to build around, but the schedule release will be one more checkpoint in seeing how this new-look team is set up for the grind ahead. [Read more 🡒]