Ryan Bertoia joined the Aquinas Athletic Department in his current role as the head coach of the AQ men's basketball program prior to the 2016-17 season. Bertoia is the 16th head coach in the history of the AQ men's basketball program.
Over his eight seasons as the Aquinas head coach, Bertoia has accumulated a career record of 99-128 with a WHAC record of 71-86. "Coach B" has led his players to a considerable amount of success over the years with four First Team All-WHAC selections, seven Second Team All-WHAC, one WHAC All-Defense, and three WHAC All-Freshman athletes.
In the classroom, Bertoia has led 32 men to be named to WHAC All-Academic teams. The past two years have seen substancially more academic success as 16 of those athletes were named All-Academic in just the past two years.
During his first year at the helm of the program in 2016-17, he guided AQ to a berth at the NAIA National Tournament, where the Saints fell to top-ranked Union (Ky.) to cap off a 19-win season. The 2017-18 Saints won 17 games in his second season. He has also coached a pair of NABC Third Team All-Americans (Jake Bullock in 2016-17, Arsenio Arrington in 2017-18).
Before being named the head coach of Aquinas basketball, Bertoia worked as an assistant at Aquinas College where he directed all aspects of the programs film exchange, editing, and breakdown. He also helped manage all aspects of recruiting and fundraising and prepared and organized the team’s travel arrangements. On the court, Bertoia worked with opponent preparation and Aquinas’ offensive and defensive breakdowns. A majority of his time was spent working with post players and developing red-shirts. He also designed, implemented, and oversaw the strength and conditioning program for the basketball team. During his time at Aquinas, Bertoia also helped develop two-time All-American Jake Bullock.
Prior to Aquinas, Coach Bertoia spent five years as an assistant coach at Olivet College, where he worked with Mike McClary, Olivet’s all-time leading scorer and shot blocker. McClary was also an NCAA Division III First Team All-American, the two-time MIAA Player of the Year, and was the runner-up for the NCAA Division III National Player of the Year.
Bertoia also spent two seasons as an assistant at Muskegon Community College.
As a student, Ryan played on the Aquinas baseball team from 2004-2006 before receiving his Bachelor's from AQ in Business Administration and Sports Management.
Ryan currently lives in Coopersville with his wife Melissa and their daughter Gabriella.
