Home | Strength and Conditioning Staff | Facilities | Banned Substances | Videos

Strength and Conditioning Staff

Matt Brand moves up to the head strength and conditioning coaching position after serving as assistant coach. Brand, who earned his undergraduate degree in exercise science from Ithaca College (N.Y.) in 2002 and his master's in applied exercise science from Springfield College (Mass.) with a concentration in strength and conditioning in 2004, was the head strength and conditioning coach at Lafayette College prior to coming to UC Davis.

He's also gained experienced on staffs at Rutgers, Springfield, College of the Holy Cross and Cornell.

Brand is a two-time national powerlifting champion and twice captured powerlifting gold medals at the A.A.U. Junior Olympics. He is a Certifified Strength and Conditioning specialist by the National Strength and Conditioning Association and possesses his United States Weightlifting certification as well. He continues his competitive career in both powerlifting and amateur strongman.

Ronald Wright joined the UC Davis Strength and Conditioning Training staff in 2012. Prior to arriving at UC Davis, Ronnie spent ten years as the head strength and conditioning coordinator at Bradley University, where he worked with current UC Davis men's basketball coach Jim Les. From 1997-2001, Ronnie was the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coordinator at Wichita State University. He also had a short stint as the Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coordinator for the Wichita Stealth of the Arena II Football League.

Ronnie graduated from Wichita State University in 1999 with a BS in Exercise Science and a BA in Sports Administration. In 2006, he was published in "Training and Conditioning" for an article on men's basketball training.

Ronnie has an extensive background in body building, including winning the 2000 Kansans Regional Body Building Championship and participating in the 2000 Powershack Classic in Kansas City, Kan.

Ryan Marker joined the UC Davis Strength and Conditioning Training staff in 2012 after spending six years at the University of Illinois as an Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach. He developed, implemented and monitored year-round training programs for the baseball, softball and swimming and diving squads. Under his guidance, the 2011 Illinois baseball team won the Big Ten Conference Tournament.

Ryan graduated from Illinois State University in 2005 with a BS in exercise science. From August-December 2002, he served as the assistant baseball coach at Parkland Junior College. He was inducted into the Parkland Junior College Hall of Fame in December of 2008.