Ryan Woolridge

Ryan Woolridge

No. 1–Panionios
Position	Shooting guard / Point guard
League	GBL
Personal information
Born	(1996-11-16) November 16, 1996 (age 28) Mansfield, Texas, U.S.
Listed height	6 ft 3 in (1.91 m)
Listed weight	180 lb (82 kg)
Career information
High school	Lake Ridge (Mansfield, Texas)
College	North Texas (2016–2019) Gonzaga (2019–2020)
NBA draft	2020: undrafted
Playing career	2020–present
Career history
2020	Medi Bayreuth
2021	Oklahoma City Blue
2021–2022	Iraklis Thessaloniki
2022–2023	Oklahoma City Blue
2023–2024	Naturtex-SZTE Szedeák
2024–present	Panionios
Career highlights and awards
CBI champion (2018) Third-team All-Conference USA (2019)

Ryan Woolridge (born November 16, 1996) is an American professional basketball player for Panionios of the Greek Basket League. He played college basketball for the North Texas Mean Green and the Gonzaga Bulldogs.

Early life

In fifth or sixth grade, Wooldridge played on the same Amateur Athletic Union (AAU) team as future Gonzaga teammate Admon Gilder. ^[1] Woolridge attended Lake Ridge High School in Mansfield, Texas. While in high school, his mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. He did not play on a prominent AAU team as he had some bad experiences with the program. Woolridge received recruiting interest from several Big 12 programs and intended to sign with Texas before a coaching change. Instead, Woolridge signed with San Diego. ^[2]

College career

North Texas

Despite signing with San Diego out of high school, Woolridge never played a game for the team. Shortly after the start of his freshman season, his father, Columbus, was diagnosed with prostate cancer and he opted to transfer closer to home, to North Texas. After gaining eligibility in December 2016, Woolridge became an important piece for the Mean Green. ^[2] As a freshman, he averaged 9.6 points, 4.9 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game and led the team with 41 steals. ^[3] He averaged 12.7 points, 5.8 assists, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game as a sophomore, shooting 49.6 percent from the floor. ^[4] On December 5, 2018, Woolridge posted a triple-double of 12 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists as North Texas defeated Indiana State, 80–69. ^[5] As a junior, Woolridge averaged 11.7 points, 6.0 rebounds, and 5.0 assists per game, earning Third Team All-Conference USA honors. ^{[6] [7]} During his junior season, Woolridge played with pain in both knees culminating in a stress fracture in his patella during the Conference USA tournament which required two screws in his leg. ^[2]

Gonzaga

For his senior season, Woolridge decided to transfer to Gonzaga as a graduate transfer, choosing the Bulldogs over Oklahoma, Minnesota, Arkansas, and Arizona. ^[8] He won praise for his defensive acumen at Gonzaga, holding Nico Mannion of Arizona to seven points. ^[9] Woolridge averaged 10.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game as a senior. ^[10]

Professional career

After going undrafted in the 2020 NBA draft, Woolridge signed with Medi Bayreuth of the Basketball Bundesliga on July 12, 2020. ^[11] Woolridge left the team on December 29, 2020, after averaging 7.7 points and 3.1 assists in seven games. He then landed with the Oklahoma City Blue of the NBA G League, making his debut for the team on February 11, 2021. In 14 games, he averaged 6.6 points, 4.1 rebounds, 4.0 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

On July 24, 2021, Woolridge signed with Iraklis Thessaloniki of the Greek Basket League. ^[12] On November 10, 2022, he re-signed with the Oklahoma City Blue.

On September 10, 2023, Woolridge signed with Naturtex-SZTE Szedeák of the Hungarian league. ^[13]

Career statistics

Legend

GP	Games played	GS	Games started	MPG	Minutes per game
FG%	Field goal percentage	3P%	3-point field goal percentage	FT%	Free throw percentage
RPG	Rebounds per game	APG	Assists per game	SPG	Steals per game
BPG	Blocks per game	PPG	Points per game	Bold	Career high

College

Year	Team	GP	GS	MPG	FG%	3P%	FT%	RPG	APG	SPG	BPG	PPG
2016–17	North Texas	21	12	28.5	.503	.357	.575	4.9	3.2	2.0	.1	9.6
2017–18	North Texas	38	37	36.6	.496	.315	.506	5.2	5.8	1.4	.4	12.7
2018–19	North Texas	30	27	32.8	.469	.333	.581	5.9	4.8	1.9	.3	11.7
2019–20	Gonzaga	33	33	32.7	.529	.432	.610	4.5	4.2	1.4	.2	10.1
Career		122	109	33.2	.497	.366	.555	5.1	4.7	1.6	.3	11.2

Personal life

Woolridge is the son of Columbus and Rochelle Woolridge. He has an older sister, Hunter.

References

1. Meehan, Jim (June 25, 2019). "New Gonzaga guards Ryan Woolridge, Admon Gilder have crossed paths before". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 12, 2020.
2. Meehan, Jim (January 28, 2020). "Point guard Ryan Woolridge forges unique career path to Gonzaga". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 12, 2020.
3. "Ryan Woolridge". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 12, 2020.
4. Brune, Matthew (October 18, 2018). "Basketball player preview: Ryan Woolridge". 247 Sports. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
5. "Woolridge's triple-double leads North Texas past Indiana St". USA Today . Associated Press. December 5, 2018. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
6. "Graduate transfer point guard Ryan Woolridge headed to Gonzaga". KREM. June 23, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
7. "Woolridge, Gibson Voted All-Conference". North Texas Mean Green . March 11, 2019. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
8. Meehan, Jim (June 23, 2019). "North Texas grad transfer Ryan Woolridge commits to Gonzaga". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 12, 2020.
9. Maupin, Will (December 30, 2019). "Zags point guard Ryan Woolridge is among the best the team has ever had". Inlander . Retrieved July 12, 2020.
10. Meehan, Jim (February 25, 2020). "Where Gonzaga rates in the chase for WCC's individual awards". The Spokesman-Review . Retrieved July 12, 2020.
11. Skerletic, Dario (July 12, 2020). "Medi Bayreuth sign Ryan Woolridge". Sportando.basketball. Retrieved July 12, 2020.
12. Mammides, Chris (July 24, 2021). "Iraklis add Woolridge to their roster". Eurobasket.com. Retrieved July 28, 2021.
13. "Ryan Woolridge a Szedeákban". SZTE-Szedeak.hu (in Hungarian). September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 11, 2023.

External links

• Gonzaga Bulldogs bio
• North Texas Mean Green bio