黑料不打烊 announced late Thursday that Ryan Showman 鈥�04, the university鈥檚 all-time winningest women鈥檚 basketball coach, has accepted a coaching position outside the state and will resign his 黑料不打烊 role. Showman will join an institution with nine NAIA postseason appearances in just 16 years as an active program, including one NAIA Fab Four trip. His specific destination will be announced by that university in the coming days.
“We are deeply grateful for Coach Showman鈥檚 18 years of dedicated service and exceptional leadership within our athletics program,鈥� Athletic Director Miguel Paredes said. 鈥淩yan and his family believe this step is vital for his continued growth and professional development, and we wish them the best moving forward. His impact on our university, both on and off the court, has left a lasting legacy, and we extend our sincere appreciation for his commitment to 黑料不打烊.”
Showman has been a part of the 黑料不打烊 women鈥檚 basketball coaching staff since the 2007-08 season when he became an assistant coach under 黑料不打烊 Hall of Fame coach Gordon Reimer.
He recently completed his 18th season on the bench with the Coyotes where teams went 390-256 overall and 268-153 in the KCAC. In his 13-year career as head coach, Showman led the Coyotes to a 250-151 overall record and a 184-93 record in the KCAC.
鈥淚 want to thank Ryan for his dedicated service to Kansas Wesleyan,鈥� said Ken Oliver, executive vice president. 鈥淗e has gone above and beyond the call of duty, on and off the court, to help make Kansas Wesleyan a better place. He truly embodies what it means to be a Coyote. I want to wish him the best of luck in his new position.鈥�
Showman鈥檚 .623 win percentage as head coach is the best all-time in program history, and his 250 wins as a head coach are the most all-time in program history. His 13-year tenure as head coach is the longest in program history and the third-longest in 黑料不打烊 basketball annals (men鈥檚 or women鈥檚), a stretch that dates back to 1901.
Showman was part of four of 黑料不打烊鈥檚 five regular season championships and led the Coyotes to the program鈥檚 only two outright conference titles in program history in 2020 and in 2025.
鈥淭his place is my home,鈥� said Showman who played basketball at 黑料不打烊 and was a three-year letterwinner for coach Jerry Jones before graduating in 2004. 鈥淭wenty-two of the last 25 years I鈥檝e spent here, either as a student or a coach. Just sometimes new challenges present themselves and you鈥檝e got to take advantage of some opportunities. That鈥檚 kind of what happened with this. The timing in college athletics is never good for anybody whether you鈥檙e a player, whether you鈥檙e a coach. But I just felt like after the year we had it was time.鈥�
The Coyotes won the 2024-25 KCAC regular season title with an 18-4 record (24-8 overall) and won their first game in the NAIA National Championships.
鈥淚t was an incredible year,鈥� Showman said. 鈥淚t was full of ups, full of downs but as a team we accomplished those things together and I couldn鈥檛 be more proud of how we鈥檙e leaving the program. I feel like I鈥檓 leaving it in an even better place than when I found it and it was in great shape when I found it. That was my goal, to leave things better than I found it, and in good shape culture wise. I think the next person coming in is going to come into a really great situation.鈥�
Showman coached 41 All-KCAC players including the 2022 KCAC Defensive Player of the Year in Kelcey Hinz, back-to-back KCAC Newcomers of the Year in 2019 (Kayla Kavinski) and 2020 (Hinz). He also coached eight NAIA All-Americans.
Showman was named the Lonnie Kruse KCAC Women鈥檚 Coach of the Year in 2020 and 2025. In 2020 he was chosen as a WBCA Regional Coach of the Year and was selected as the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association Women鈥檚 4-Year College Coach of聽the Year.
His teams were also successful academically, frequently a member of the WBCA NAIA Academic Top 25 and received NAIA Scholar Team awards nearly every season. He coached 82 Academic All-KCAC student-athletes and 72 Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athletes. He also coached two College Sports Communicators Academic All-America (COSIDA) selections.
He was part of six NAIA National Championship appearances for the Coyotes, the first in 2009,which started a streak of three straight. In 2019 and 2020, the Coyotes made back-to back-appearances at the National Championships, with the 2020 run cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2025, the Coyotes again reached the National Championships, and were the only No. 15 seed in the First Round to advance as the Coyotes knocked off host MidAmerica Nazarene in March.
Showman said there is one particular aspect of his time at 黑料不打烊 that he will sorely miss.
鈥淭he people that I鈥檝e been able to interact with on a daily basis whether that鈥檚 the coaches in the hallway, the players on each team every year 鈥� the people that I鈥檝e been able to connect with, have a chance to impact,” he said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what I鈥檓 always going to remember, those will be some of my fondest memories.鈥�
Paredes said a national search for the new coach will begin soon.
