Rhen Vail

Rhen Vail joined the University of Pittsburgh's Department of Athletics in May 2018 as a strength and conditioning coach for women’s basketball. Prior to his arrival at Pitt, Vail served as the head basketball sports performance coach at Kent State from 2016-18. In his first season in the position, the men’s basketball team won its first Mid-American Conference Tournament title since 2008, while the women’s team improved its win total by 13 games and captured the MAC East Division Championship. During his time with the Golden flashes, Vail was a part of 12 MAC Championships and helped train numerous All-Americans and draft picks. He has trained 13 MLB draft picks and worked in some capacity with 30 NFL draft picks. For three years before his promotion, Vail was the assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Golden Flashes from 2013-16, overseeing baseball, women’s soccer, men’s and women’s track and assisting with football. The Lucas, Ohio, native was a graduate assistant for the Golden Flashes before becoming a full-time coach. Vail earned a master’s degree in sport and recreation management from Kent State in 2013. In 2011, he received his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University in exercise science where he served as a student intern with the Buckeye football strength and conditioning staff for three seasons. Upon completion of his degree, Vail completed a six-month internship with Athletes Performance in Los Angeles working closely with a wide variety of world class athletes. He is certified through the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa), USA Weightlifting (USAW), and the National Association of Speed and Explosion (NASE).