A native of Tasmania, Australia, and former Penn State middle-distance standout, Ryan Foster joined the Auburn track & field staff in 2026 after spending the previous five years at his alma mater, including the last four as associate head coach.
Over the course of his coaching career, Foster has coached 41 All-American performances, 37 conference champions, and nine Freshmen of the Year and has been awarded three USTFCCCA Regional Coach of the Year honors and one Conference Coach of the Year (PSAC) honor for his efforts. Foster, who had 30 All-America performers at Penn State over the last five years, has also coached a remarkable 10 performances that stand in the top 10 in NCAA history during his career.
Foster guided Penn State’s middle-distance and distance athletes to numerous All-America honors during the 2025-26 season, highlighted by Hayley Kitching’s runner-up finish in the women’s 800-meter run at the NCAA Outdoor Championships. Kitching earned First Team All-America honors after running 1:57.65, the second-fastest time in NCAA history.
Under Foster’s guidance, Allon Clay and Niko Schultz earned First Team All-America honors in the men’s 800 meters at the NCAA Outdoor Championships, while Clay, Handal Roban and Yukichi Ishii all collected First Team All-America accolades in the men’s 800-meter run at the NCAA Indoor Championships.
Penn State had a First Team All-American in the men's indoor 800m in four consecutive seasons (Roban - 2023, Roban - 2024, Desmeules - 2025, Roban - 2026, Clay - 2026, and Ishii - 2026) and is the only Division I school to accomplish that feat over that span.
Prior to his time at Penn State, Foster spent three seasons as an assistant coach at Tennessee (2018-2021), two years at Edinboro University (2016-18) as head cross country coach and assistant track and field coach, and three years at Penn State (2012-15).
Foster’s first two cross country seasons at Tennessee saw the Vols and Lady Vols record their best postseason performances in more than a decade. In 2018, the men’s team tabbed their best SEC (4th) and NCAA Regional (3rd) finishes since 2010 and 2002. In 2019, the Lady Vols posted their best conference (4th) and regional (3rd) outings since 2009.
At Edinboro, Foster guided the women’s cross country team to a Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) title in 2017. He took the Edinboro women to a 19th-place finish at the NCAA Division II National Championships in 2017 and was named the PSAC and USTFCCCA Atlantic Region women’s cross country coach of the year.
On the track, Foster made PSAC history with his student-athletes winning all men’s middle and long distance races at the 2018 conference championships. He was later named the USTFCCCA Atlantic Region Men’s Track & Field Assistant Coach of the Year.
As a runner at Penn State, he earned three All-America finishes, including a pair of NCAA bronze-medal efforts as well as four Big Ten titles. Foster set Australian national indoor records in the 800 meters and 1,000 meters and also competed in the IAAF World Indoor Championships, placing 19th in the 1,500 meters.