Ryan Sims | Assistant Coach
Fort Wayne native Ryan Sims enters his 12th season for the Purdue Fort Wayne Mastodons in 2021-22.
Named to the Under Armour 30-Under-30 Team by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), Sims is one of the top rising coaches in college basketball.
Sims has helped guide the Mastodons to five postseason appearances. The run included the program’s first NIT berth in 2016 as well as a win over Ball State in the CIT 2017 and a win over Akron in the 2014 CIT.
Sims coached John Konchar at Purdue Fort Wayne. Konchar became the first Mastodon to play in the NBA after signing with the Memphis Grizzlies. At Purdue Fort Wayne, Konchar became the first student-athlete in NCAA Division I men’s basketball history to record 2,000 points, 1,000 rebounds, 500 steals and 250 steals. Konchar became the only player in the program's history to be named all-league first team all four seasons of his career.
The 2016-17 campaign saw the Mastodons earn their third 20-win season in four years. The 'Dons topped No. 3 Indiana in front of the largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in the city of Fort Wayne.
The Mastodons won the 2016 Summit League regular season title for the first time in school history finishing the year with a 24-10 record. Sims worked with the guards where he helped guide Max Landis to earn Summit League Player of the Year, Konchar to First Team All Summit League and Mo Evans to be Player of the Month in December.
In 2014-15, the Mastodons were pre-season favorites to win the Summit League and finished the season with a trip to the College Insider Tournament for the second straight year. Sims assisted the Mastodons to a school record 25 wins in 2013-14 which saw the team advance to the Sweet 16 of the College Insider Tournament. Sims’ work with the guards helped guide newcomer Mo Evans to the Summit League Sixth Man of the Year and Pierre Bland pick up a spot on the Summit League All-Tournament Team. Before the 2013 season, Sims coached Frank Gaines who is the current all time leading scorer in school history.
Sims entered the coaching ranks after a successful playing career. He started his career at Bowling Green State University from 2006-08 where he played for current ESPN analyst Dan Dakich. He finished his career at the University of Indianapolis playing for head coach Stan Gouard. Sims senior year he averaged 10.1 points and 3 rebounds a game with the Greyhounds. He also shot a conference-high 89 percent from the free-throw line.
Sims comes from a basketball family. His younger brother J.R was on staff at Indiana University for two seasons and helped guide the Hoosiers to capture the Big Ten Champion in 2016. Sims played his high school ball at nearby Snider High School for his father Ray Sims. His father coached for over 30 years throughout Indiana. Sims was named All-State as a junior and a senior. He was also a McDonald's All-American nominee his senior season after averaging over 20 points and six assists a game. He was rated the 23rd best point guard in 2006 by Prep Spotlight and top 10 overall in the state of Indiana. Sims was also a three-time All-Conference selection in High School.
Sims graduated from the University of Indianapolis in 2010 with a degree in Sociology.
Sims resides in Fort Wayne with his wife Shea and son Bishop.
Mike Wolf | Assistant Coach
Mike Wolf is in his third season with the Mastodons in 2021-22 and his second as an assistant coach. He served as the Director of Operations for the 'Dons in 2019-20.
Prior to coming to Fort Wayne, Wolf spend two seasons as the Director of Operations for Mount St. Mary's.
Prior to Mount St. Mary's, he was an assistant at Emory & Henry College. He helped lead the Wasps to their first 20-win season in 24 years, and to the Old Dominion Athletic Conference Tournament championship game for the first time in 23 years. He assisted with game planning and scouting, coordinated video, led individual skill development workouts and helped with recruiting.
Prior to his time at Emory & Henry, Wolf was a three-year captain and the valedictorian for his class at William Peach University in Raleigh, North Carolina. He was a member of William Peace's first-ever men's basketball team in 2012-13, and he led the team to a second-place finish as a senior. He started 55 consecutive games, and led the USA South and was second in NCAA Division III in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.8), as a senior.
A standout in the classroom as well, Wolf achieved a perfect 4.0 grade-point average in political science. He was named to the USA South Academic All-Conference team three seasons, and was a 2014-15 CoSIDA Academic All-District honoree.
Adam Blaylock | Assistant Coach
The 2022-23 campaign will be Adam Blaylock's fifth season with the Purdue Fort Wayne men's basketball program.
Since arriving at Purdue Fort Wayne he has served as recruiting coordinator, compliance liaison, scheduling contact and community service outreach coordinator. He has also directed Jon Coffman Basketball team and kids camp, which has seen an increase in attendance under his tenure as director. Blaylock’s primary position of development has been with the front court.
The 2021-22 season saw the Mastodons win the Horizon League regular season, set a school record 10 Division-one wins in a row, win 20 games for the fourth time in program history, and earn its first ever birth in the College Basketball Insider postseason tournament. The 'Dons led the league in overall defense, forced turnovers, and had two all-league players in Jarred Godfrey and Jalon Pipkins. Deonte Billups was recognized as the league's Sixth Man of The Year and Jon Coffman was the Horizon League coach of the year,
The past three seasons the Mastodons have seen a major increase in frontcourt production. Ra Kpedi, who returns for his final year of eligibility, saw his minutes, points, and rebounds all increase from the season before. He led the Horizon League in two-point field goal percentage in 2021-22 and recorded his first double-double while making the Horizon League’s academic honor roll the past three seasons.
Blaylock was instrumental in Dylan Carl’s development as a Mastodon; who played for CSM Targu Jiu in Romania’s division A in his first year of professional basketball in 2021-22. Carl started 88 games under Blaylock’s tenure. Cameron Benford broke the Mastodon program record for most games plays in school history.
Blaylock coached and developed NBA point guard John Konchar, professional wing, Kason Harrell and All-Horizon League pick Jalon Pipkins.
Prior to coming to Purdue Fort Wayne, Blaylock spent 2015 to 2018 as the top assistant for junior college Panola College in Carthage, Texas. He helped the Ponies to 70 wins during that time. In 2017-18, Panola went 20-12 and had six student-athletes sign with Division I schools. The Ponies had 17 players advance to Division I programs in Blaylock's three seasons on the bench. Blaylock was the lead recruiter of LSU signee Marlon Taylor.
Blaylock helped the Ponies earn the 2017 Region 14 Regular Season Championship and two Region 14 runner-up finishes. His student-athletes had nine All-Conference selections. The 2017 team earned a berth to the national tournament. The three-year span while Blaylock was at Panola College is the winningest three-year period in school history.
In the spring of 2017, CoachStat.net named Blaylock one of the top 10 junior college coaches in the nation.
Prior to Panola, Blaylock was the top assistant at Northeast Community College in Norfolk, Nebraska. He began coaching at Northeast in January 2011. While at Northeast, Blaylock oversaw recruiting, strength and conditioning, player development, academics and overall basketball operations. Blaylock helped Northeast win 97 games and coached two nationally ranked teams. While coaching at Northeast, Blaylock obtained his master's degree in organizational management in December 2013.
Blaylock was a student assistant for Peru State College in Peru, Nebraska in Fall 2010. He received his bachelor's degree in Social Science Education while at Peru State.
The Nebraska native began his playing career at Northeast Community College and his final two years of basketball at Peru State where he was named the 2009-2010 MCAC Scholar-Athlete of the year.
Matthew Ambrose | Director of Player Development (1st season)
