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Ryan Vanhoy named director of Sun Devil Track and Field and Cross Country

Sun Devil Track and Field Postseason Finishes Sun Devil coaching history across all sports A great thank you from Cal Poly
Ryan Vanhoy named director of Sun Devil Track and Field and Cross CountryRyan Vanhoy named director of Sun Devil Track and Field and Cross Country

TEMPE – Sun Devil Athletics Director Graham Rossini has announced the hiring of Ryan Vanhoy as the Director of Track and Field and Cross Country.

Vanhoy led the Cal Poly Mustangs to their third straight Big West Championship on the men’s side and earned Big West Men’s Track Coach of the Year in 2026. During his four years leading the Cal Poly Track and Field program, Vanhoy oversaw 32 Big West individual champions and 101 All-Big West honorees. His cross country teams swept conference titles for the fourth straight year this past fall, as his programs won 12 Big West team titles in his tenure.

“We were energized by the level of interest in this opportunity, and throughout the process, Ryan’s name kept coming back to us,” said Sun Devil Athletics Director Graham Rossini. 

“His winning record speaks for itself, but what stood out even more was his reputation as one of the most dynamic and respected rising leaders in the sport. Ryan has proven he can identify and develop elite talent, build a strong culture and create sustained success across every aspect of a program. ASU Track and Field and Cross Country has the tools, resources and ingredients to, once again, become a national program and pairing those assets with an exciting director like Ryan gives us tremendous confidence in what we can build together. His vision, energy and passion for developing student-athletes make him a great fit for ASU, these six programs and the forward direction of Sun Devil Athletics.”

“I’m incredibly grateful to Dr. Crow, Graham Rossini, Lisa Young, and Marcus Williams for the opportunity to lead Sun Devil Track and Field and Cross Country into its next chapter,” said Vanhoy.

“ASU is one of the iconic brands in our sport, and I’m excited for the chance to build this program in a way that honors its rich history while reflecting the dynamic growth of this great University.

Our goals are straightforward: Build a program that develops outstanding young people, attracts exceptional talent, and consistently competes at the highest level in the Big 12 and on the national stage. My family and I are thrilled to join the Sun Devil community, and we’re eager to get to work building relationships throughout the department, across the ASU community, and most importantly with our student-athletes.”

Ryan Vanhoy with Cal Poly

Coaching resume

  • 3 NCAA National Champions (2017 Distance Medly Relay, 2 individuals)
  • 4th Place Trophy at 2016 NCAA XC Championships
  • 12 NCAA Top 25 Team Finishes in XC, 5 Indoor TF, 2 Outdoor TF finishes at Ole Miss while on staff
  • 45 First Team Track All-Americans, 69 Total
  • 8 Cross Country All-Americans
  • 10x Conference Coach of the Year (8 Big West, 2 SEC)
  • 14 Conference Team Championships (12 Big West, 2 SEC)
  • 18 Big West Individual Champions (15 Track, 3 XC)
  • 57 SEC Individual Champions
  • 11x USTFCCCA South Region Coach of the Year (7 XC, 4 Track)

Vanhoy takes over a program that has won five NCAA titles, including four under 23-year Head Coach Greg Kraft, who is excited about the hire. Coach Kraft led the program to multiple honors, awards and titles from 1996 to -2019 and was named to ASU’s Hall of Distinction in 2023.

“I would like to welcome Coach Ryan Vanhoy and his family to Arizona State University," said Kraft.

"Coach Vanhoy has spent his entire career preparing for this opportunity, and he is the right coach at the right time to lead our programs!   This is an exciting time for Sun Devil Athletics, and I look forward to following our program’s path to championship contention.”

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The Ryan Vanhoy file
During his time with the Mustangs, Vanhoy led the program to unprecedented success, capturing all eight Big West Championships in men’s and women’s cross country since his arrival and guiding the men’s track and field team to three consecutive conference titles (2024-26).

He also helped the Cal Poly women’s track and field team secure its second Big West Championship in 2024, and was named a Big West Coach of the Year a combined eight times between track and field and cross country.

Across his time at Cal Poly, Vanhoy personally coached 18 Big West individual champions between track and cross country. He mentored Aidan McCarthy to three First Team All-American finishes in the men’s 800-meter (2023 7th outdoors, 2025 3rd indoors, 2025 5th outdoors) and Chris Caudillo to one in the men’s 1,500 (2026 7th outdoors), and oversaw eight school-record breaking performances and 47 top-10 marks all-time between the men’s indoor and outdoor track and field seasons.

The Mustang Track and Field program boasted seven First Team All-Americans and 12 total All-American honorees between indoor and outdoor under Vanhoy’s direction.

In 2025-26, Vanhoy helped Cal Poly sweep the Big West men’s and women’s cross country team titles for the fourth straight year, achieving the first four-peat sweep in the sport in the history of the conference. 

The achievement allowed him to be crowned Big West Men’s Cross Country Coach of the Year for the fourth consecutive season. On the track, the Cal Poly men won their third straight conference title thanks to an impressive 141 points from the distance events overseen by Vanhoy, sweeping the podiums in the 1,500, 5,000, 10,000 and 3,000-meter steeplechase. 

The Mustangs earned a program record 19 entries in the NCAA West Preliminaries between the men’s and women’s teams, qualified five athletes for this year’s NCAA Championships and saw three of them secure First Team All-American honors.

In his first year leading the Cal Poly Cross Country program, Vanhoy, the 2022 Big West Men’s Coach of the Year, helped the Mustangs earn their first sweep at The Big West Championships since 2018 and their sixth in program history, setting the stage for an historic run in San Luis Obispo.

Cal Poly swept the top three places in the race, and five athletes finished inside the top 10 individually.

As a team at NCAA West Regionals, the Cal Poly men secured eighth, their best finish since 2013, and the women took home 11th, their best finish since 2018.

During his first season leading the Mustang track program in 2023, men competed indoors for Cal Poly for the first time in Division I program history, and the women broke four school records indoors. Outdoors, 24 new top 10 marks were recorded across the men’s and women’s teams, and three school records were broken, including a pair by distance phenom Aidan McCarthy (men’s 800-meter and 1,500-meter). 

Under Vanhoy’s guidance in 2023, McCarthy secured First Team All-American honors in the 800, placing seventh at the NCAA Championships. McCarthy was named Big West Men’s Co-Track Athlete of the Year, finished first in the 800 at the NCAA West Preliminaries and advanced to the 800 semifinals at the USATF Outdoor Championships during the summer. Overall, Vanhoy mentored four distance NCAA West Prelim qualifiers during the 2023 track season.

In 2023, Vanhoy also helped professional runner John Rivera qualify and compete at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in the men’s 800.

Vanhoy at Ole Miss
Vanhoy also spent nine seasons at Ole Miss (2013-22), leading the distance and cross country programs. In the spring of 2022, Vanhoy mentored two NCAA Champions in Mario Garcia Romo (men’s indoor mile) and Sintayehu Vissa (women’s outdoor 1,500-meter). Garcia Romo and Vissa were among four athletes Vanhoy coached during the 2022 outdoor track season that received All-American honors and two of 12 All-American honorees he oversaw during the 2022 indoor season.

Vanhoy arrived in Oxford, Mississippi, in 2013 to take over as the men’s cross country coach and serve as an assistant track coach for the men’s distance team. Unprecedented success, school records and program firsts soon followed.

He led the Rebel men to their first appearance in the NCAA Cross Country Championships in 2014, as well as their first South Regional title that same year.

Overall, Vanhoy led the Ole Miss men’s cross country team to eight NCAA Championship appearances, five NCAA South Regional titles and the program’s first two SEC team titles in 2018 and 2019. He won the men’s South Region Coach of the Year award five times and helped the Rebel men place fourth at the 2016 NCAA Championships, a program best.

Vanhoy added to his coaching duties at Ole Miss in the fall of 2015 by becoming coach of the women’s cross country team and the women’s distance crew on the track.

In cross country, he guided the women to six straight NCAA appearances, including the program’s first in 2016, and two NCAA South Regional titles, and earned a pair of women’s South Region Coach of the Year awards.

Across both cross country teams at Ole Miss, Vanhoy coached 61 NCAA All-South Region honorees, 34 All-SEC runners and eight total All-Americans. Ole Miss was also one of just four schools nationally to have both men’s and women’s cross country teams finish inside the Top 25 at each of the six NCAA Championship meets from 2016-21.

On the track at Ole Miss, Vanhoy’s athletes were just as impressive. Sixteen of the 20 indoor and outdoor school records in distance events are owned by Rebels Vanhoy coached. Vanhoy guided 65 Rebels to All-American honors (41 first-team, 24 second-team), 57 to SEC Championships and 21 to SEC runner-up finishes. Vanhoy was named USTFCCCA South Region Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year four times, and his 2017 distance medley team won the NCAA title.

How it all started
Prior to his time at Ole Miss, Vanhoy coached at Northeastern University for one year and at his alma mater, the University of North Carolina, for three years. He coached his runners at Northeastern to four Colonial Athletic Association conference titles. During his tenure at North Carolina, Vanhoy helped produce two ACC champions, five NCAA East Region qualifiers and two Olympic Trials qualifiers.

With the Tar Heels, Vanhoy was an assistant track and field and cross country coach during his first two seasons prior to being promoted to head men’s and women’s cross country coach in January 2012.

Vanhoy, who competed on the North Carolina track and cross country teams in 2006 and 2007, graduated from UNC in 2009 with a bachelor’s degree in biology. The Asheboro, N.C. native received his master’s degree in exercise physiology from UNC in 2012. Vanhoy is married to Michelle Chewens, and the couple has two sons, Hudson and Henry.

Coaching history

  • Cal Poly Director of Track and Field and Cross Country, 2022-2026
  • Ole Miss Associate Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach, 2015-22
  • Ole Miss Assistant Track and Field Coach, men’s and women’s distance, 2016-22
  • Ole Miss Assistant Track and Field Coach, men’s distance, 2014-15
  • Ole Miss Men’s Cross Country Coach, 2013-15
  • Northeastern Assistant Track and Cross Country Coach, 2013-14
  • North Carolina Head Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach, 2012-13
  • North Carolina Assistant Track and Cross Country Coach, 2010-12

Follow along
Stay up-to-date with the Sun Devils throughout the season via the team’s social media accounts, @SunDevilTFXC on Instagram, Facebook and X.

Sun Devil head coaching timeline (as of July, 2026)

Sun Devil head coach timeline
-Zeke Jones, Wrestling (13th year in 2026–27/hired April 9, 2014)
-Greg Powers, Hockey (12th year in 2026–27/hired Nov. 18, 2014)
-Missy Farr-Kaye, Women's Golf (12th year in 2026–27/hired June 26, 2015)
-Jay Santos, Gymnastics (11th year in 2026-27/hired May 27, 2016)
-Matt Thurmond, Men's Golf (11th year in 2026-27/hired July 25, 2016)
-Matt Hill, Men's Tennis (11th year/tenth season in 2026–27/hired June 29, 2016)
-Cliff English, Triathlon (11th year in 2026–27/hired Nov. 13, 2015)
-Graham Winkworth, Soccer (tenth year in 2026–27/hired Nov. 29, 2016)
-Willie Bloomquist, Baseball (sixth year in 2026-27/hired June 11, 2021)
-Marc Briggs, Men's and Women's Diving (sixth year in 2026-27/hired Sept. 1, 2021)
-Petra Pardi, Water Polo (fifth year in 2026–27/hired May 18, 2022)
-Megan Bartlett, Softball (fifth year in 2026–27/hired June 22, 2022)
-Taryn VanThof, Lacrosse (fifth year in 2026–27/hired July 5, 2022)
-JJ Van Neil, Volleyball (fourth year in 2026–27/hired Dec. 29, 2022)
-Kenny Dillingham, Swette Family Endowed Football Coach (fourth year in 2026-27/hired Nov. 27, 2022)
-Kristen Glattfelder, Beach Volleyball (fourth year in 2026-27/hired June 2, 2023
-Herbie Behm, Men's and Women's Swimming (third year in 2026–27/hired April 1, 2024)
-Jamea Jackson, Women's Tennis (third year in 2026-27/hired June 4, 2024)
-Molly Miller, Women's Basketball (second year in 2026-27/hired March 22, 2025)
-Randy Bennett, Men's Basketball (first year in 2026-27/hired March 23, 2026)
-Ryan Vanhoy, Men’s and Women’s Track and Field (first year in 2026-27/July 27, 2026)