Matthew Ramirez begins his first season as head of Central Washington women's rugby, and his fourth season with program overall.
Ramirez takes over after spending the previous three seasons as an assistant coach for the Wildcats.
“We are really excited to have Matt Ramirez as our new Women’s Rugby Head Coach,” CWU Deputy Athletic Director Gary Hyatt said. “Matt has played a big role in the team’s improvement in the classroom and on the pitch this past year. His passion for rugby and the members of the team was demonstrated throughout the interview process. We look forward to seeing Matt’s leadership build a foundation of success for many years to come.”
Ramirez, the former head coach of the men’s rugby team at Nebraska before arriving in Ellensburg during the summer of 2018, can’t wait to get started on his newest venture.
“I am extremely grateful to be the next head coach of this amazing program,” Ramirez said. “Since I arrived in Ellensburg, we have been working relentlessly to build and instill a competitive culture with a ‘team first’ mentality. These amazing student-athletes will continue that plan by striving for greatness academically and athletically as we continue to add the right people to program. I can’t wait to get started and compete in every moment with this team.”
In his time as an assistant with the Wildcats, Ramirez served as the Wildcats’ defense coach as well as the forwards coach, which highlighted MA Sorensen Award nominees, Mae Sagapolu and Tessa Hann this past season.
“I want to thank Dr. Dennis Francois, the senior administration, and the search committee for this opportunity and also thank (former head coach) Coach (Trevor) Richards for allowing me to help grow this program the past three years,” Ramirez said. “I couldn’t be prouder to be a part of this program, department and University.”
In addition to his time with the Huskers, Ramirez was an assistant coach for the Nebraska All-State High School Select Side from for over a year (2017-18).
Ramirez is a USA Rugby Level 200 Certified Coach and has trained with the BNZ Crusaders Coaching International High-Performance Unit in New Zealand, where he spent time learning from top national and international coaches during the summers of 2018 and 2019.
