UAA's Orton elevated to associate head coach

ANCHORAGE (July 22) – Entering his eighth season with the Alaska Anchorage men’s basketball program in 2022-23, Ryan Orton has been elevated to the role of associate head coach.

Since coming back to UAA in 2017, the Northwest native has helped the Seawolves push their streak of .500-plus records to 16 seasons, including a 20-14 mark and Great Northwest Athletic Conference Tournament runner-up finish in 2019-20, followed by a 15-9 record and GNAC Tournament semifinals bid in 2021-22.

As the program's primary recruiter, he has helped UAA secure commitments from five future All-GNAC performers since his return.

“It was an easy decision to recommend that Ryan be named associate head coach,” said UAA head coach Rusty Osborne. “He is extremely deserving of this recognition and everyone associated with our program understands the contributions he has made during his tenure. In addition to being an outstanding on-court coach and our recruiting coordinator, Ryan has taken on added responsibilities over the last few years in the areas of academic advising and community outreach, with impressive results. He is very detail oriented and is extremely dedicated to the young men in our program. Ryan is a loyal staff member to me, our program and UAA as a whole. He represents us with class and dignity.”

Orton came back north after a 5-year stint as the head coach at Western Wyoming Community College in Rock Springs, Wyo., where he led the Mustangs to winning seasons in his last three campaigns, including 21-and 22-win seasons and NJCAA Region IX playoff berths in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

In his first stint with the Seawolves, Orton made an impact by securing commitments from three former Alaska Players-of-the-Year, plus a long list of Lower 48 prep and junior-college standouts. In 2011-12, former recruit Taylor Rohde was the GNAC Player of the Year and Division II BulletinNational Player of the Year for the Seawolves.

--GOSEAWOLVES--

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