MADISON, N.J. – Ryan Van Zelst has been selected as the new men's basketball coach at Drew University, Director of Athletics Christa Racine has announced.
 
Van Zelst becomes the 17th head coach in the 96-year history of Drew men's basketball and replaces Michael McSloy, who became the head coach at Ithaca College last month.
 
Van Zelst brings a deep level of Division III experience to The Forest, including head-coaching stops at both Cabrini University and Penn State Abington. He also served as the associate head coach at Landmark Conference rival University of Scranton, where he spent seven years with the Royals. He picked up additional Division III experience as an assistant coach at both York (Pa.) College and his alma mater, Albright College.
 
Most recently, Van Zelst held the post of associate head coach at Division II Millersville University during the 2024-25 campaign.
 
"First, I would like to thank Christa Racine and the entire search committee for the opportunity to lead the Drew Men's Basketball program," said Van Zelst. "I am thrilled to be joining the Drew University community. Drew Men's Basketball has been a benchmark program not only in the Landmark Conference but also in the region and I am honored and humbled to build on the recent success. I am eager to begin developing relationships with our student-athletes and supporting them throughout their college experience."
 
"We are thrilled to have Ryan join our Drew community and lead our men's basketball program," said Racine. "He is a coach with a ton of energy, knowledge, and deep understanding of what it takes to succeed at the Division III level and in the Landmark Conference."
 
This past season, Van Zelst helped Millersville to a 19-12 record, including a 13-8 mark in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Eastern Division. In the postseason, the Marauders took Gannon University, the No. 1 seed in the PSAC West, to overtime in the semifinals of the PSAC Championships.
 
Prior to his time at Millersville, Van Zelst served as the head coach at Cabrini University. Just weeks after accepting the position, the university announced it would close in the spring of 2024. However, Van Zelst held the team together, and the Cavaliers ranked first in the Atlantic East Conference in 3-point field goal defense. In the team boosted its GPA from 2.3 to 3.0. 
 
In 2022-23, Van Zelst served as the head coach at Penn State Abington, where he led the Nittany Lions to their most wins as a Division III team, set a program record with 11 conference wins, and reached the United East Conference championship game for the first time in school history. His squad finished 18-9 and ranked No. 1 in the United East in scoring defense, allowing just 65 points per game. Off the court, his team's GPA improved significantly, and the program partnered with Team IMPACT. 
 
At Scranton, Van Zelst was a member of the 2021 Landmark Conference Coaching Staff of the Year, helped Scranton to NCAA tournament bids in 2016 and 2017, a conference title in 2017, and title game appearances in 2020 and 2021. During his tenure in the Electric City, the Royals posted a 113-55 record, including a 64-32 mark in Landmark Conference play.
 
In 2017, Van Zelst was named to the NABC 30 Under 30 Team, and he was a part of the NABC Mentor Circle Program in 2021. 
 
Van Zelst coached the 2014-15 season at Albright and helped York to an NCAA tournament berth during his stint from 2012-14. 

As a student-athlete, Van Zelst played three seasons at Albright and was a member of the 2010 team that captured the MAC Commonwealth Conference championship and advanced to the NCAA tournament. He earned a bachelor's degree in business administration from Albright and later earned a master's degree in business administration accounting from Scranton. 
 
Van Zelst will inherit a program that is coming off a banner season in 2024-25 in which the Rangers won the Landmark Conference title and earned the program's first-ever appearance in the NCAA Division III Championships. The team finished 24-4, setting the program record for victories, and went 18-0 in the Landmark Conference, becoming the first men's basketball team in conference history to go undefeated for an entire regular season. The Rangers also broke a team and Landmark Conference record for the longest winning streak (16 games), capped by the team's 85-70 victory over Catholic in the Landmark Conference Championship game. In addition, the squad broke into the national rankings for the first time in team history when it was voted No. 25 by D3hoops.com on Feb. 24, and they topped out at No. 16 in the final poll of the regular season.