The Kent State women’s basketball team just added another weapon to their coaching arsenal with the hiring of Ryan Patterson.

Patterson will be an assistant coach and work alongside head coach Robert Lindsay and associate head coach Lori Bodnar.

“We are very happy to add Ryan Patterson to our staff,” Lindsay said. “Ryan knows KSU, the tradition of our program and is looking forward to being back at the university and being a member of our women’s staff.”

Patterson said he doesn’t feel entirely new to the women’s coaching staff since he has known Bodnar and Lindsay for a while.

“I’m very excited for the opportunity to work with the staff,” Patterson said. “I hope to be a valuable asset to the KSU program.”

Patterson spent the last seven seasons as the associate head coach at the University of Findlay. He helped coach the Oilers to a 2010 NCAA Division II tournament appearance and the program’s first ever postseason victory.

“Coach Patterson was a very good technician of the game, and the team relied on him often on how to handle game situations,” said Clare Aubry, who played guard for the Findlay women’s basketball team this past season.

Before his stint at Findlay, Patterson spent two seasons as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s basketball teams at West Liberty State College. The women’s team posted 49 wins in two seasons and back-to-back NCAA Division II tournament appearances during his stint there.

“My favorite part about coaching is developing a relationship with the players on and off the basketball court,” Patterson said. “These relationships help us mesh better as a team.”

Patterson is not new to Kent State, as he spent two seasons in 2001 and 2002 as a graduate assistant for the men’s basketball program.

Patterson said he knows it will be difficult to make an immediate impact on the team but hopes to add some valuable advice and knowledge to the program.

“My biggest challenge this upcoming season is going to be finding my voice in the program and finding my place in the system,” he said.

Contact Summer Kent Stater reporter Anthony White at [email protected].