Penn State Harrisburg

Reigning United East Men’s Indoor Track & Field Coach of the Year Ryan Hart begins his second season as head coach of Penn State Harrisburg's men's and women's track & field and cross country programs in 2025-26.


A former top assistant for Penn State Harrisburg, Hart returned to lead the program beginning with the 2024-25 season. His first full-time campaign yielded the first team conference championship in program history, a pair of United East Athletes of the Year, an all-region performer, a College Sports Communicators Academic All-District honoree, 14 individual conference championships and 44 combined all-conference honors. 


The most recent season ended with Hart leading Penn State Harrisburg’s men’s outdoor track & field team to its first-ever United East Championship. Under Hart’s tutelage, thrower Sean Myron was tabbed the United East Men’s Outdoor Field Athlete of the Year before securing CSC Academic All-District recognition, while jumper Jonathan Luo was named the United East Men’s Indoor Field Athlete of the Year in February. Hart’s athletes won four indoor conference titles and added 10 more outdoor championships, while he himself was voted the United East Men’s Indoor Coach of the Year for his efforts. A trio of Hart’s cross country runners earned all-conference recognition in the fall of 2024 before his track & field athletes racked up 41 all-conference honors across indoor and outdoor competition. 


Prior to his time at Penn State Harrisburg, the decorated former thrower served as the head throws coach at nearby Elizabethtown Area High School for four years. He was named team captain and team MVP as a senior at Downingtown East High School after setting school records in the indoor shot put, outdoor shot put and discus throw. He was the Ches-Mont League Champion in both shot put and discus, setting a league record in the latter. Hart is the PIAA District 1 record holder in the discus and earned a fifth-place finish in the event at the PIAA State Championships his senior year.


Hart continued his throwing career at Division III DeSales University where he set the school record in the discus throw as a freshman and won the Middle Atlantic Conference (MAC) Outdoor Championship in the event. 


After transferring to Division II Shippensburg University, Hart set the school record in the discus and captured the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Outdoor Championship during his sophomore campaign. That same year, he placed eighth in the discus throw at the NCAA Division II Outdoor Track & Field Championships, earning USTFCCCA All-America First Team honors in the process. While at SU, Hart was a consistent scorer in both indoor and outdoor competition, helping the Raiders clinch three straight overall PSAC Championships.


Hart graduated from Shippensburg in 2020 with a degree in International Studies with a concentration in global political relations and Asian studies. He currently resides in nearby Harrisburg, Pa. with his wife, Sarah, and their two cats, Jeff and Ted.