Ryan McTamney '20 had the best of everything at Ursinus: Top-notch academics and athletics, as well as the opportunity to be a leader in the community. He's still pursuing all three of those aspirations.
McTamney, who graduated this past spring with a degree in Health & Exercise Physiology, is in Ireland as part of the Sport Changes Life Foundation's Victory Scholar Program. While continuing to play basketball, he'll earn a master's in sports performance practice from the Letterkenny Institute of Technology and also have the opportunity to mentor young people in the community, developing leadership skills and building relationships through sports.
"The program gives you a lot of different opportunities," McTamney said. "You get your master's, continue to play basketball, and you also serve as a mentor and try to build the aspirations of the youth in the community. I thought it was a no-brainer."
A native of Roxborough and alum of La Salle College High School, McTamney was a standout student-athlete for the Bears. He earned two All-Centennial Conference awards before leaving as the program's eighth all-time leading scorer with 1,380 career points – more than 1,250 of which came in his final three seasons. McTamney was also a two-time National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Honors Court member and graduated with a 3.42 GPA.
As his collegiate career wound to a close, McTamney nurtured dreams of playing professionally overseas. He considered signing with an agent, but the COVID-19 pandemic gave him additional time to evaluate his priorities. Bears assistant Brian Rafferty '17 had sent McTamney a link with information about the Victory Scholars Program, and the more he thought about it, the better it sounded.
"When COVID happened, I had a lot of time to think about what I wanted to do, and what was the best situation for me," McTamney said. "Looking through this program, I thought it would be the best thing for me."
Ironically, he got an assist from a former rival in Zack Yonda, who played at Swarthmore College and was a Victory Scholar in 2018.
"He gave me a lot of great feedback," McTamney said. "He said it's a great experience and a great opportunity, helped me figure out my decision."
After applying to the program and going through the interview process, McTamney was officially accepted in June. He arrived in Ireland on September 5, and this week marked his first days out of quarantine. On Monday, McTamney and his roommates were finally able to explore the Northern Irish town, the largest in County Donegal and known for its cathedrals.
"We went to a national park and saw a castle," McTamney said. "I plan to do a lot of exploring."
He's also gotten back to the court, practicing with his Letterkenny IT counterparts for the first time this week. They'll plan to play in a pair of preseason games before beginning the regular season.
In addition to absorbing a new culture, McTamney said playing with a new set of teammates – and under the international rules of basketball, which allow offensive goal-tending and for three steps instead of two – will be another significant adjustment.
"The drills are actually pretty similar to what we do (at UC)," he said. "It's offensive-focused, which I appreciate. The different part is getting used to playing with a new group of guys. You've been so used to playing with the same structure for four years, and trying to transition to a different style of play, but other than that, basketball is basketball at the end of the day. It's still competitive and fun."
After the program ends in May, McTamney will have more major decisions to make. He'll juggle the possibility of continuing his playing career with aspirations of extending his education, either for physical therapy or in medical school.
"That's another main focus of this year, trying to figure out what I want to do after," he said.
Family has always been a defining part of McTamney's life. He went to college just over a half-hour drive from his home, and his sister, Kayla, is a junior on the softball team at Ursinus. The prospect of a year abroad, with the first two weeks spent under quarantine, was daunting in its own right; McTamney's first time out of the country was two summers ago, when the men's basketball team embarked on a 10-day journey to Portugal and Spain. Those same sources of trepidation, however, quickly gave way to the thrill of immersion into a new environment.
"It's definitely different," McTamney said. "It was hard in the beginning to adjust, especially when you're quarantining. Now, it feels pretty normal and I still stay in contact with everyone every day. The chance to go to Ireland, explore a new culture, you can't help but be excited."