Oberlin College Athletics

Ryan Polak enters his sixth season as the head men's lacrosse coach in 2025-26 after he was named the head coach in February of 2021.

Earning the North Coast Athletic Conference (NCAC) Coaching Staff of the Year accolade in 2025, Polak has transformed the program since his arrival in 2021. In his first full season as the head coach, Polak led the Yeomen to their first NCAC tournament appearance in program history. The Crimson and Gold continued to be a strong force as the 2025 class marked the winningest class in school history by registering 41 wins.

Under Polak’s direction, there have been 20 All-NCAC honorees as well as three United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) All-America Honorable Mention selections and one Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Association All-Region Honorable Mention. In the classroom, the Yeomen have produced 69 NCAC All-Academic recipients and 13 College Sports Communications All-District honorees under Polak’s direction.

Prior to his Oberlin tenure, Polak served as the lead assistant coach at Kenyon College for three seasons, where he was the Lords' offensive and recruiting coordinator.  Polak was instrumental in making the Lords a perennial force within the NCAC with two conference tournament appearances (2018-19) and producing nine All-NCAC selections.

Before Kenyon, he was the director for True Lacrosse Idaho and also worked as the head lacrosse coach at Bishop Kelly High School in Boise, Idaho. Polak got his start in coaching as a college counseling intern and assistant lacrosse coach at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson, Ohio, in 2015 and 2016.

A 2014 graduate of Washington College (Maryland), Polak helped the Shoremen make three NCAA Tournament appearances as a midfielder and attackman. As a senior, he guided WC to a Centennial Conference Championship in 2014 and an appearance in NCAA DIII semifinals. Polak earned a bachelor's degree in business management from WC and completed a master's of science in sport coaching from West Virginia University in December of 2020.