Former Panther standout, Ryan Nowicki, returns for his 11th season on the Hanover men’s basketball coaching staff in 2025-26 and his fifth as Associate Head Coach after being promoted in the summer of 2022.
Nowicki has had a memorable tenure as a member of the Panther coaching staff, with the Panthers winning HCAC Championships in 2016-17, 2017-18, 2018-19, and 2021-22. His first season on the Panther coaching staff was a historic one, as Nowicki helped guide the team to one of its best overall records, post-World War II, at 26-4. The Panthers also added a 16-2 mark in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play en route to the league’s regular season and tournament championships.
The 2016-17 Hanover men’s basketball team also earned a trip to the NCAA Division III National Tournament, where they made their deepest run in program history, advancing to the Elite Eight. The Panthers finished the season ranked 7th in the country in the final Top 25 rankings of the season conducted by D3Hoops.com. Three players received all-conference recognition, including Wes McKinney who was named the HCAC Player of the Year, while also garnering D3Hoops.com fourth team All-American and CoSIDA second team academic All-American honors. Head Coach Jon Miller was also named HCAC Coach of the Year.
Following his initial collegiate coaching campaign, Nowicki assisted in Hanover's second consecutive HCAC regular season and tournament championship, as well as another appearance in the NCAA Division III National Tournament. The Panthers were 22-7 overall, 14-4 in the HCAC, and were ranked as high as 4th in the country in the D3Hoops.com Top 25 rankings. They had three players earn all-conference honors, including Cam Fails who was named HCAC Player of the Year and a D3hoops.com All-American. McKinney was also a CoSIDA Academic All-American in 2017-18 and was a finalist for the prestigious Jostens Trophy, which highlights a select number of men's and women's basketball players for their performance on the court and in the classroom.
In Nowicki’s third season, the Panthers successfully completed a 3-peat, winning the HCAC Regular Season and Tournament Championships for the 3rd consecutive season and advancing to the NCAA Tournament for the 3rd straight year. The Panthers had 3 players named to the all-conference team, led by Cam Fails who was named HCAC Player of the Year for the 2nd consecutive season. Fails was named an NABC All-American in addition being named to the NABC D3 All-Star team. Head Coach Jon Miller was also named the HCAC Coach of the Year.
In Nowicki’s sixth season, Hanover won its fourth HCAC Championship in 6 years. The Panthers posted a 21-5 overall record and were 15-3 in the HCAC to win the HCAC Regular Season Championship outright. The Panthers had 4 players earn all-conference honors, led by Ty Houston who earned 1st Team honors. The Panthers also led the entire country in 3-point shooting with the team hitting at a 41.1% clip. Head Coach Jon Miller also received HCAC Coach of the Year honors.
In Nowicki’s nine seasons at Hanover, the Blue and Red have posted a 166-68 overall record and a 120-47 mark in conference action. During that span, Hanover has won 4 HCAC Regular Season Championships and 3 HCAC Tournament Championships. The Panthers have also recorded 4 twenty-win seasons. Nowicki has recruited 8 HCAC All-Conference performers, including Hanover’s All-Time Assists Leader, Isaac Hibbard, and Hanover’s Single-season 3-point Leader, Max Greenamoyer. Nowicki has also recruited 3 members of the 1000-point club at Hanover. Nowicki helped develop an additional 4 HCAC All-Conference performers and 2 more members of the 1000-point club, as well as 2 All-Americans and a D3 All-Star.
The Panthers have also achieved at a high level in the classroom during Nowicki’s tenure at Hanover. The Men’s Basketball team has had a Team GPA over 3.0 in every year after the 2016-17 season. They have been multiple time recipients of the NABC Team Academic Excellence Award and have had several players named to the NABC Honors Court. The men’s basketball team has also received the Hanover Athletic Department’s award for the Highest Male Team GPA multiple times.
During his playing career at Hanover Nowicki, a four-year starter and three-time captain, helped guide the Panthers to an overall record of 68-36 from 2009-2013. The team also went 52-14 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play, recording more conference wins than any other HCAC team over those four years. In 2010-11, Nowicki helped lead the Panthers to a 19-8 record and 14-4 mark in the HCAC. The Panthers were ranked as high as 17th in the country by D3hoops.com and were able to earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament, returning for the first time since 2005. Nowicki was a three-time all-HCAC performer and scored over 1,000 points in his career. He was named the 2013 Hanover College Male Senior Athlete of the Year.
Nowicki graduated cum laude from Hanover in 2013 with a bachelor of arts degree in political science and communication. Upon graduation, Nowicki attended IU McKinney School of Law. He went on to graduate cum laude in 2016. During his time at IU McKinney, Nowicki assisted on the Guerin Catholic High School boys’ basketball staff. During the 2015-16 season, Nowicki was named head coach of the freshman team at Guerin.
Nowicki has also worked as a college summer camp counselor at multiple NCAA Division I institutions including Wisconsin, Iowa State, Creighton, East Carolina and Butler.
