Ryan Gearhart joined the Arkansas football program in the spring of 2023 after spending the previous 10 years at Georgia. With the Bulldogs, he worked with multiple sports including baseball, softball, diving and cheerleading.
He earned the distinction of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach in the Spring of 2024 from the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. The title of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach represents professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise and longevity in the field. To earn the distinguished status, a strength and conditioning coach must be an active member of the CSCCA, be a strength and conditioning certified coach and a full-time collegiate and/or professional strength and conditioning coach for a minimum of 12 years.
During his time with the Bulldogs, he was a part of several successful programs, including helping the 2014 swimming and diving team to a national championship. His work with softball helped produce Women’s College World Series appearances in 2016 and 2018 along with a SEC Tournament title in 2014. The Bulldogs’ baseball team earned a Top 8 national seed twice (2018, 2019) and made four NCAA Regional appearances (2017, 2018, 2019, 2022).
As the Director of Athletic Performance for Baseball, he created a Sport Performance Team (Strength and Conditioning, Athletic Training, Nutrition, and Sport Psychology) and worked with them to coordinate a holistic approach to training including:
Movement Screenings and Performance Assessments
Strength and Power Development Using Velocity Based Training
Force Plate Data Analysis and Review
Speed Development
Body Composition Analysis
Long Term Athletic Development (LTAD) Programming for Multiple Training Ages (Freshman-Seniors / Professional Baseball)
Nutrition Education and Implementation
Joint ROM and Assessment
Readiness and Fatigue Monitoring
Leadership Training Tactics
He holds multiple certifications including:
NSCA- CSCS & RSCC
CSCCa- SCCC
NASE- Level 1 Speed and Power Development
USAW-SPL1
Precision Nutrition- Certified Nutritionist
FRCms
ArmCare+
Prior to Georgia, Gearheart spent time working at Ohio State, Eastern Michigan and Kent State. He worked with baseball programs beginning in 2010 while serving in the role as a Graduate Assistant at Eastern Michigan. After his time at Eastern, Gearheart was hired by Coach Scott Stricklin at Kent State. In his first year, KSU earned its first appearance in the College World Series in school history. While at KSU, Gearheart also served as a nutritional specialist for multiple athletic teams. His work experience also includes a stint at D1 Sports Training in Nashville, Tenn., where he was a facility coordinator/head speed and strength coach.
A native of Columbia, Tenn., he earned a bachelor’s degree in Exercise Science from Middle Tennessee State in 2009 and a master’s degree in Sport Management from Eastern Michigan in 2013. Gearheart is married to the former Paige Herring of Birmingham, Ala., who also worked at Georgia as an Assistant Athletic Trainer for the swimming and diving program. The couple has two daughters, Peyton and Taylor.
