Ryan Davis is in his second season as assistant coach at UIC, joining the staff in April 2024. He is responsible for special situations, in addition to assisting on both offensive and defensive strategies and handling player personnel scouting reports. Davis also serves as the program's primary academics, compliance and financial aid liaison, and collaborates on recruiting, player development, internal scheduling and camp operations.
During his first season at UIC (2024-25), the Flames finished with a 17-14 record and tied for fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference. UIC also registered its best regular-season winning percentage (.567) since 2004 and picked up four Quad 1 & 2 wins (second-best in the Valley). What's more, the Flames posted five wins over teams that competed in the postseason, including victories over Drake, Yale, Bradley and Illinois State, and produced the program's second-highest scoring offense (76.0 ppg. – fourth in MVC) in the past 30 years.
Davis has been a lifelong Chicagoland resident and came to Chicago's College Team following nine seasons on the staff at Lake Forest College, the final three (2021-24) as head coach. In 2023, he was named to the Most Impactful Division III Head Coaches list by Silver Waves Media. During Davis’ tenure as an assistant and head coach, the Foresters registered 104 wins, including 80 conference victories, and helped Lake Forest advance to the NCAA Division III Tournament for the first time in program history in 2018-19. The Foresters also set or tied 17 program records with Davis on the sidelines, including high-water marks for scoring average (83.6 ppg.) and three-pointers made (269) during the 2018-19 season.
An accomplished coach and tactician, Davis produced 10 all-conference honorees and 45 academic all-conference selections while at Lake Forest. He also garnered further experience as an advanced scout for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx during the 2021 season.
“Ryan has already gathered a great deal of coaching experience, most recently with the opportunity to serve as a head coach at Lake Forest,” Ehsan stated. “That knowledge is invaluable for our program, and then when you add on the recruiting connections he has made as a lifelong Chicago resident, it’s clear he will be an important contributor to our staff as we build a championship culture."
Prior to his arrival on Chicago’s North Shore, Davis served two years as an assistant coach at the University of Chicago Lab School, helping U-High earn back-to-back Independent School League championships. While coaching there, Davis also spent time as a coach with the Nike Meanstreets AAU program in Chicago, assisting with player development, on-court coaching and recruiting.
Davis is a 2015 graduate of the University of Chicago, where he received his bachelor’s degree in political science and played for the Maroons’ men’s basketball team in 2011-12. Originally from Deerfield, Illinois, Davis matriculated from Deerfield High School and spent a post-graduate year at Phillips Exeter Academy in New Hampshire.
Davis and his wife, Hannah, are the proud parents of a son, Nolan, and make their home in Chicago.
