Hokie ClubBLACKSBURG- The Virginia Tech men’s soccer head coach Mike Brizendine announced Monday the addition of Ryan Hulings as the new volunteer assistant coach. Hulings brings collegiate and professional playing experience as well as collegiate coaching experience to Blacksburg.
“We are very grateful to be able to get someone of Ryan’s quality as an addition to our coaching staff,” said head coach Mike Brizendine. “Anytime you can get someone with that strong of a playing and coaching background it is a tremendous addition. I am confident that Ryan will make an immediate positive impact with the goalkeepers. I am very proud that our previous volunteer assistant coach, Cory Speed, got himself a head coaching job at Gilford College.”
Prior to coming to Tech, Hulings was an assistant coach at the University of Pittsburgh for the last two years with an emphasis on goalkeeping.
During that time, he also coached for the Pittsburgh Riverhounds Development Academy as the Goalkeeper Director from 2013-15. While with the Development Academy, Hulings held administrative roles from February of 2013 to August of 2013 assisting the implementation procedures with the professional and youth camps, while also creating coaching plans.
Hulings made him managerial debut as an assistant coach for both the men’s and women’s teams at his alma mater, Baldwin Wallace University, for the 2013 season.
“I am extremely excited and thankful to be joining Hokie Nation with Coach Brizendine and the men’s soccer team,” said Hulings. “I am looking forward to working with Coach Brizendine and his staff this year. Tech has a great tradition of goalkeepers and I plan to contribute to that this season.”
The Ohio native most recently played for the Tampa Bay Rowdies’ 2 of the NPSL after signing in April of this year. Hulings was a part of the Pittsburgh Riverhounds club team as a goalkeeper for the past three years. While with the USL team, Hulings was loaned to the club’s developmental team, Pittsburgh Riverhounds U23 of the Premier Developmental League where he made 10 appearances. Hulings was brought back to the senior side from February to May of 2015 and appeared in two games.
Hulings was a four-year letter winner and three-year starter at Baldwin Wallace from 2009-2012. He played in 59 games, starting 53 of them and compiled a 31-16-8 record with 14 shutouts during his four-year career. His goals against average (GAA) never rose above 1.11 in a single-season and he left the program with a 1.10 GAA and .784 save percentage all-time. In his junior season, Hulings led the Yellow Jackets to their first-ever NCAA Tournament berth and the season before, Hulings earned his only Ohio Athletic Conference Men's Soccer Player of the Week award.
Hulings graduated from Baldwin Wallace in 2014 with a bachelor of arts in sport management.