Ruth Vargas, a 2017 graduate of SUNY Old Westbury, enters her first season as SUNY Old Westbury assistant women’s basketball coach.
“It gives me so much joy to have the opportunity to come back to a place that gave me so much and helped mold the person who I am today,” said Vargas. “My experience as a player will help strengthen the player-to-coach dynamic.”
Vargas, who was granted a medical hardship waiver for a fifth year of playing eligibility by the NCAA, concluded her 104-game career (2010-12, 2014-17) in 2016-17. Despite suffering season-ending ACL injuries on three separate occasions, Vargas wrapped-up her career by earning all-region third-team honors by D3hoops.com and All-Met, in addition to first-team All-Skyline Conference laurels in 2016-17. Vargas helped Old Westbury advance to its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance after capturing the Skyline Conference Championship in 2016. She then played in 27 games to average career highs of 13.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, 2.8 steals and 1.4 assists per contest during the 2016-17 campaign. In her final season, Vargas’ efforts helped Old Westbury win the Skyline Conference Regular Season Championship before advancing to the championship game for the second-straight season.
“It is an honor to bring back such an accomplished student-athlete to the program,” said head coach Michael Krasnoff. “The opportunity to add a coach with Vargas’ skillset is a great boost to Old Westbury.”
For her career, Vargas totaled 892 points (8.5 p/game), 659 rebounds (6.3 p/game), 154 steals (1.4 p/game), 83 blocks (0.7 p/game) and 66 assists (0.6 p/game).
The Brentwood, New York native graduated in 2017 with a degree in criminology. She was also a one-time selection to the Athletic Director’s Academic Honor Roll.
Vargas, who graduated Brentwood High School in 2010, currently works as a Direct Support Personnel at YAI (Young Adults Institution), a group home that supports adults of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
