Ryan Cain became Johns Hopkins' 17 men's basketball coach on June 30, 2023. Cain, who spent eight years as the head coach at Keene State (NH), replaced Josh Loeffler, who was named an assistant coach at the University of Cincinnati.
Cain led Johns Hopkins to a 20-7 record, including a 15-3 mark in the Centennial Conference, and a sixth-straight trip to the CC Championship game in his first season with the Blue Jays. He coached the Centennial Conference Defensive Player of the Year and Rookie of the Year, as well as three all-conference selections. In addition, John Windley was named Second Team All-NABC Region V and Brayden Fagbemi was named the D3Hoops.com Region V Rookie of the Year.
Cain guided the Owls to a record of 146-66 (.689) during his eight-year tenure with five, 20-win seasons and five trips to the NCAA Tournament. Under Cain's guidance, Keene State advanced to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2017, the Sweet 16 in 2016 and 2023 and the second round of the tournament in 2022.
Keene State posted a 28-2 record to set a program record for victories during the 2022-23 season. The Owls finished the season ranked 10th in the final D3hoops.com Poll and were ranked as high as fourth in the nation during the season; they boasted winning streaks of 15 and 13 games during their run to the Sweet 16 and finished third in the nation in winning percentage (.933) and tied for fifth in victories.
The 2022-23 season was the latest in a long line of successful campaigns for the Owls under Cain's direction. In addition to the five trips to the NCAA Tournament in eight years, the Owls won four Little East Conference (LEC) Tournament titles (2016, 2019, 2022, 2023) and a pair of LEC regular season titles (2019, 2023). Keene State rolled up an 86-30 (.741) LEC record during Cain's time with the Owls, including a 28-4 (.875) mark over the last two seasons.
Cain earned LEC Coach of the Year honors in 2019 and 2023 and was the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) Region 2 Coach of the Year in 2023. He coached three All-Americans, two Northeast Region Players of the Year, eight All-New England selections, two LEC Players of the Year and 10 of his players at Keene State earned first or second team All-LEC honors.
Prior to his eight-year run leading the Owls, Cain served as an assistant coach for eight seasons at his alma mater, Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI). There, he helped lead the Engineers to an eight-year record of 174-47 (.787), six trips to the NCAA Tournament, five New England Women's and Men's Athletic Conference (NEWMAC) regular season titles and one NEWMAC Tournament title; the Engineers won at least 20 games in each of Cain's eight seasons on the staff.
Cain played collegiately at WPI and graduated in 2007 with a degree in civil engineering. On the court, he remains the Engineers' all-time leading scorer (1,813 points), won the 2007 Jostens Trophy as the top student-athlete in Division III and was a Third Team NABC and D3hoops.com All-American in 2007 as well. He guided the Engineers to an 89-20 record during his career with three trips to the NCAA Tournament, four NEWMAC regular season titles and two tournament championships. Cain was recently named to the NEWMAC's 25-Year Anniversary Team.
Jack Barrett comes to Homewood after a 12-year stint at Emerson College. He spent the last nine seasons as an associate head coach under head coach Bill Curley.
During his tenure at Emerson, Barrett recruited and coached nine all-conference selections, including five first team honorees and one rookie of the year. He helped the Lions to the school's first-ever NEWMAC Championship (2019) and the program's first trip to the NCAA Tournament. He helped the Lions qualify for the conference tournament seven times.
A native of Reading, MA, Barrett played three-years at Franklin Pierce University before finishing his career at Wentworth Institute of Technology. After graduating from Wentworth, he began his coaching career at Suffolk University and helped the Rams to the league playoffs.v
Jeff Hunter joined the Blue Jays' coaching staff in August 2024. He came to Baltimore after an All-American career at Keene State.
Hunter left his mark all over the Owls' record book in his storied career. A two-time First Team NABC All-American, he graduated as the program's all-time leader in rebounds (1,395), blocks (238), field goal percentage (.596) and games started (116). He also ranks second in field goals made (803) and is third in points (1,923). Hunter was a two-time finalist for the prestigious Jostens Trophy and was twice named the Little East Conference (LEC) Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.
Hunter led the Owls to a 91-32 record and three straight LEC Championships. Keene State went to the NCAA Tournament three consecutive seasons, including back-to-back Sweet 16 appearances in 2023 and 2024. Hunter graduated from Keene State in 2024 with bachelor's degrees in Safety and Occupational Health Applied Science and Construction Management.