Concordia Irvine Athletics

Austin Ruiz is set to begin his fourth year as an Eagle and his first on the women’s bench.  He originally joined the Concordia University men’s basketball coaching staff as a graduate assistant in the summer of 2017 after graduating from St. John’s University in Queens, New York.

After three years working under the tutelage of Ken Ammann, Austin is switching to the women’s side for this season, as the move will expand his role on the bench and allow him to get more experience in his young career.

Last year, Austin helped lead the CUI men’s basketball team to an impressive 20-12 overall record (14-8 PacWest), which landed them in the PacWest conference tournament for the third straight season.

In Austin’s second year under Ammann, he helped lead the Eagles to a second place PacWest finish and their first NCAA DII tournament berth in program history.  

While at St. John’s, Austin was a student manager for their men’s basketball program and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in sports management. He had the opportunity to work for Steve Lavin from 2014-2015 and Hall of Fame members Chris Mullin and Mitch Richmond his final two years at St. John’s.  In his first year with the Red Storm, the team made the NCAA tournament and lost to San Diego State in the first round.

Austin grew up in Seal Beach, Calif. and attended Lakewood High School.  At Lakewood, he played for his father and former Long Beach State assistant Matt Ruiz who worked under head coach Seth Greenberg.

Austin graduated from Concordia in the spring of 2019 with a master’s degree in coaching and exercise science and in the spring of 2020 he completed his master's degree in coaching and athletic administration.