Kittery Wagner Ruiz - Women's Rugby Coach - Brown University Athletics

Kittery Wagner Ruiz

Title:
Assistant Coach
Email:
kittery_ruiz@brown.edu

Ruiz joined the women's rugby staff in the Summer of 2022 and enters her secod season with the program this fall alongside the Kathleen Flores Women's Rugby Head Coach Rosalind Chou.

Brown posted an impressive 18-7-1 overall record in 2022-23, bolstered by a strong spring season. In the fall, Brown finished 3-4-1 in NIRA Division I play with wins over Princeton, Mount St. Mary's, and LIU.

In the spring, Brown posted a 15-3 record while primarily playing in 7s matches. Notably, Brown reached the championship at the Crimson 7s Tournament in March. At the 2023 CRC National Championship, Brown ran the table with a 4-0 mark to capture the program's first National Championship. The Bears took wins over Kutztown and Northern Iowa in the opening rounds before grinding out wins over Navy and Army for the trophy.

Outside of collegiate competition, Ruiz served as an assistant coach with the United States U-20 National Team and competed this summer with three Bruno student-athletes - Akilah Cathey, Nikki Lynch, and Julia Murray.

"Ruiz has coached and competed on the highest stages in domestic and international women’s rugby," said Chou. "Her experience ranges from youth, high school, college, women’s premier league, to the USA National pathway. Her background and experience in teaching enables her to be uniquely skilled in working with myriad types of learners and she could easily serve as a head coach at any institution. She has coached athletes who, through her role modeling and coaching, have achieved the highest honors in both collegiate, club, and international levels of play.

"Ruiz is a great relationship builder with athletes where they feel encouraged, cared for, and supported. With her pedagogy, she encourages student-athletes to ask questions and understand. Her background in academics and sport makes her a great fit, and I have no doubt that she will be a great asset to the Brown University rugby program."

Ruiz comes to College Hill after most recently serving as the Commissioner of the Women's Premier League for nearly three years. Ruiz also had stints as the Head Coach of the Women's Premier League Selectside while serving as Commissioner.

In 2015, Ruiz was named Head Coach of Atavus Rugby and Football in Seattle, Washington and held the position from 2015-18. While serving at Atavus, Ruiz spent time as the Head Coach of the Atlanta Harlequins Women's Rugby Club, Head Coach of Glendale Women's Rugby, and as an assistant at Life University under Chou and as an assistant with the USA U20 Women's National Team.

A distinguished player, Ruiz spent seven years (2003-10) with the Beantown RFC before spending three years (2011-14) with Glendale Women's Rugby, helping the latter capture the 2014 National Championship.

During her playing career, Ruiz was selected to the 2009 Women's World Cup Training Squad. In 2010, she earned a spot as a utility player on the USA Women's National XVs team at the 2010 Women's World Cup in England. Four years later, Ruiz represented the United States as a hooker at the 2014 Women's World Cup in France.

Ruiz is a USA Rugby Level 300 certified coach and an America Council on Exercise Certified Personal Trainer.

Ruiz graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 2003 with a Bachelor's degree Mathematics and Psychology. In 2007, she earned her Master of Mathematics for Teachers from Boston University.