Men's Basketball Coaching Staff
Ryan Looney
Head Coach
5th Season - Eastern Oregon University (1998)
A former Mountaineer player during the 1996-98 seasons and NAIA All-America Scholar Athlete, Looney has increased expectations on campus after leading the Mountaineers to the first, second, and sixth best seasons in school history. All of this has been done in just four short seasons.
Looney and the Mountaineers had a breakout season in 2005-06, which produced the best record at EOU since 1969. The season was the second largest turnaround in school history. The 2005-06 Mountaineers also notched some memorable victories as well. Looney guided his team to the first win at Albertson College since 1996 and the first win over Oregon Institute of Technology in eleven years. During the 2006-07 season the Mountaineers completed the second best season in program history finishing with an overall record of 23-8, advancing to the finals of the 2007 Cascade Collegiate Conference Tournament, and were ranked as high as 17th in the NAIA national poll. The 2007-08 Mountaineers put together the most memorable season in program history. They finished with an overall record of 26-6, won the school’s first conference championship in 38 years, advanced to the NAIA National Tournament for the first time in school history, and were ranked as high as 3rd in the NAIA national poll. For his efforts Looney was recognized as the 2007-08 Cascade Collegiate Conference Men’s Basketball Coach of the Year. Over the last four seasons Looney has accumulated the highest winning percentage of any EOU Men’s Basketball Coach.
Looney has recruited a number of talented players over the last the last four years. Maurice Thomas was named First Team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference, Cascade Collegiate Conference Newcomer of the Year, and Eastern Oregon University Male Athlete of the Year in 2005-06. At the completion of the 2006-07 season Paul Carollo was named First Team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference and Eastern Oregon University Male Athlete of the Year. In 2007-08 Mark Carollo was named First Team All-Cascade Collegiate Conference and NAIA Second Team All-American. Chad Fairbanks, Tanner McIntosh, Jeremy Templeton, and Neil Fryer were all Cascade Collegiate Conference Honorable Mention All-Conference selections. While Mark Carollo and Tanner McIntosh were both runner-up for the Cascade Collegiate Conference Freshman of the Year award.
Progress has also been made in the classroom as well. The men’s basketball program has maintained over a 3.00 team grade point average for eight consecutive terms. Currently, they have the highest team grade point average of any male athletic team on campus.
Looney, 32, was named the 10th Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Eastern Oregon University in May of 2004. He came to La Grande after two seasons as the top assistant at NCAA Division II Minnesota State University Moorhead. While at MSU-Moorhead, Looney's team amassed a record of 33-24 and advanced to the finals of the 2002 Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament. In 2002-03 MSUM posted their best overall season since 1981 and the best start to a season since 1971 (7-0).
After graduating from EOU with a Bachelor of Science in Liberal Studies, Looney spent two seasons as a graduate assistant at NCAA Division III University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. In 2000-01 UW-La Crosse produced the best season at the school since 1988 and posted some impressive wins as well. UWL beat national power UW-Platteville for the first time in 14 years and swept regional power UW-Eau Claire for the first time in 28 years. While at UWL, Looney also obtained a Master of Science in Athletic Administration.
Ryan is married to former EOU cross country and track & field standout Julianna Morris.
Isaac Williams
Assistant Coach
5th Season - Eastern Oregon University (2000)
Williams begins his fifth season as assistant coach with the Mountaineer men’s basketball team. Along with coach Looney, Williams has been a consistent force in guiding the turnaround in the EOU basketball program. In his four seasons as assistant Williams has seen the Mounties go from a ninth place finish in 2004-2005 (4-22) to a conference title and "sweet sixteen" appearance in 2007-2008 (26-6).
Prior to returning to Eastern Oregon University, Williams had four very successful seasons as the head girls basketball coach at La Grande High School. During this time Williams led the Tigers to the OSAA 3A basketball state tournament three times. During those three years the Tigers made appearances in the state semi-final games, with a second-place finish in 2001-02. After the 2001-02 season, Williams was named The Oregonian newspaper’s 3A Coach of the Year, and was twice named Greater Oregon Coach of the Year.
Williams graduated from Eastern Oregon in 2000 with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education and Health. He was also a teammate of current Head Coach Ryan Looney.
Tim Mollerstrom
Student Assistant
3rd Season
This will be Mollerstroms third season with the Mountaineers men's basketball program.
Prior to joining the EOU Coaching staff, Mollerstrom had been coaching various levels of men's Basketball at La Grande High School. From 2003 to 2004 Mollerstrom was a freshman head coach before joining the varsity staff as an assistant. In two years as an assistant Mollerstrom helped lead the Tigers to a 5th place finish in state in 2005 and 2nd place finish in 2006.
Mollerstrom is pursuing both a Bachelor of Writing Discourse Theory Degree and a Bachelor of Secondary Education degree. Mollerstrom is also a part-time journalist for the Eastern Oregon University Athletic Department.
Contact Information for Athletics
Athletics Office, Quinn 126
One University Boulevard
La Grande, OR 97850-2899
Phone: 541-962-3364
email: athletic@eou.edu
