ODESSA, Texas (May 9, 2026) – UT Permian Basin Athletics has announced the hiring of Ryan Van Amburg as the Falcons' new Head Baseball Coach.

A former Division I baseball player and long-tenured assistant coach at the Division II level, Van Amburg brings a wealth of experience to his first head coaching position.

UTPB's Vice President for Athletics, Scott Larson, said, "The applicant pool for this position was very deep in both quantity and quality, and Ryan distinguished himself throughout the process as one of the brightest young minds in collegiate baseball. His ability to develop student-athletes, build meaningful relationships, and foster a culture of accountability and excellence made him the clear choice to lead our program. Throughout his time at Hillsdale and Limestone, he demonstrated a tireless work ethic, exceptional baseball knowledge, and a commitment to helping young men succeed both on the field and in the classroom. We are excited to welcome Ryan as our next head baseball coach and are confident he will elevate our program while representing our institution with integrity, passion, and professionalism."

Van Amburg comes to UTPB with over 10 years of experience in offensive development, defensive systems, recruiting, and program leadership at the NCAA level. He has a proven track record of building high-performing offensive units, developing fundamentally sound defenses, and mentoring student-athletes into all-conference and all-region performers. He is known for driving measurable improvements in team production, implementing efficient systems, and contributing to programs that outperform underlying performance metrics. He believes he is prepared to lead a program as a head coach through strong leadership, culture-building, and a results-driven approach.

"I am incredibly honored and excited to join UTPB as the next Head Baseball Coach," said Van Amburg. "I would like to thank Scott, Sarah and the search committee for believing in me and my vision for this program. UTPB has tremendous potential, and I look forward to building a culture centered on hard work, discipline, academic success, and championship-level baseball. My family and I are excited to become part of the Falcon community."

Van Amburg was hired as an assistant coach at Hillsdale College in the Fall of 2021. He spent five seasons with the Chargers, including the last three as the Associate Head Coach/Recruiting Coordinator. He was noted for a long streak of developing successful power hitters at Hillsdale, as well as shoring up the team's infield defense.

Van Amburg contributed to four consecutive highly productive offensive seasons at Hillsdale, including multiple top-ten marks in school history for runs scored and hits. He developed balanced lineups featuring multiple .300 hitters and high OPS performers, elevated the team defense from .955 to a school record .970 fielding percentage, and implemented defensive systems resulting in one of the top fielding percentages in the conference.

Hillsdale remained one of the top power hitting teams in the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC), leading the conference with 77 home runs in 2023, and continued to put up numbers that rank among the top 10 all-time offensively in the history of the program. While maintaining Hillsdale's offensive production, Van Amburg also has helped the Chargers make dramatic strides defensively, posting a fielding percentage of .966 in 2023 that broke the school record for single season fielding percentage by nearly a full tenth of a point. Hillsdale broke that fielding percentage record in 2025 with a .968 and again in 2026 with a .970, and the past four seasons represent the top-four marks in terms of fielding percentage in program history.

Van Amburg arrived at Hillsdale after six successful seasons as the infield and hitting coach and recruiting coordinator at Limestone University. During his tenure with the Saints, Van Amburg helped build up Limestone into one of the most feared hitting teams in the South Atlantic Conference in 2021, ranking second in the league with a .311 batting average and finishing with a top five mark in home runs with 43. The Saints also boasted the South Atlantic Conference batting champion, Benjamin Huber, in 2021, and the conference leader in triples, Alex Cornell.

Throughout Van Amburg's tenure at Limestone, the Saints were one of the best power-hitting teams in Division II, finishing with 50 or more home runs in 2017, 2018 and 2019 while falling just short of that mark in fewer games in 2021. All told, Van Amburg coached 11 athletes who combined for 16 All-Conference selections at Limestone, as well five All-Region players and one Division II All-American, Chase Allen.

Prior to joining the Limestone staff, Van Amburg was the hitting coach at DeAnza Junior College (CA), and has also spent time as the hitting coach for multiple collegiate prospects leagues, most recently with the Green Bay Bullfrogs of the Northwoods League.

"I am looking forward to building meaningful relationships with our student-athletes, connecting with alumni and supporters, and becoming an active part of the Falcon community," concluded Van Amburg. "I'm excited to help our players reach their full potential both on the field and in the classroom while building a culture that values hard work, accountability, and excellence. Most of all, I look forward to competing for championships and creating a program that our university and community can be proud of."

Van Amburg was a key player for Division I Pepperdine University throughout his four years, starting 71 games with a career .242 batting average, four home runs, 16 doubles and 54 RBIs. During his senior season in 2012, Van Amburg helped guide the Waves to a 36-23 record, a West Coast Conference title and a NCAA Division I Regional appearance. While playing for Pepperdine, Van Amburg graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics in 2012 as well.

Ryan and his wife Heather have two daughters: Emerson and Huntely.