Dylan Ryan, MD ('15), has had the unique opportunity to experience Duke as an undergraduate, athlete, resident, fellow, and currently as an Assistant Professor of Neurology with the School of Medicine. Most recently, he’s pinned down another role: college wrestling commentator for Duke and the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC).
With the season wrapping up this weekend at the NCAA Wrestling Championships, we caught up with Dr. Ryan to learn about his wrestling background and how he got connected with his newest venture.
You’ve had a long history here at Duke and briefly referenced your collegiate wrestling career in your Resident Spotlight from 2020. Could you walk us through your background and what brought you here from New England?
I grew up in Connecticut before moving to New Hampshire when I was entering seventh grade. I had a successful high school career wrestling and playing football, and was considering college options that allowed me to continue competing in either sport as well as challenge myself academically.
One of my high school wrestling teammates had been contacted by Duke during his recruiting process and I was then lucky enough to connect with Coach Glen Lanham. I can remember him calling me as I was walking to class during a snowstorm in New Hampshire and just feeling excited about the possibility of wrestling at the NCAA Division I level while getting to attend a world-class university. My mom could tell that my decision was made once my recruiting process began at Duke, and I was thankful to get admitted so I could continue my athletic and academic career.
How did you get into the sport and what do you enjoy most about it?
When my family moved to Brentwood, NH I had never wrestled in my life. I didn't make the middle school basketball team and wanted to find something else to do with my time. When wrestling flyers were passed out in gym class, I decided to bring the permission slip home and join the team. A football teammate of mine came from a wrestling family and also helped me understand the sport. I only won two matches my first season but was able to train with the high school team under Coach Bob Brown in the spring and summer -- definitely being challenged in the process. I can specifically remember one spring training session where I got to work individually with Coach Brown and he told me, “you’re gonna be a good one”, which motivated me more than he would have known in that moment. I came back and won the State Regional Championship as an eighth grader was later the first All-State Champion in 16 years for Exeter High School.
Though I didn’t find early success wrestling, I loved the physical aspect of the sport and the mental challenge it presents both individually and against your opponents. You're forced to push yourself and your teammates to a breaking point. Through that process, you grow to hold yourself accountable and I found that the sport helped me prepare for the other challenges I would face in life. The physical and mental demands foster unique relationships with teammates and coaches, and I am so grateful for the brotherhood I’ve found through my time wrestling.
Any connections you’ve encountered between wrestling and your work within neurology?
Being in medicine, specifically neurology, has grown my relationship with the sport itself. I have been able to connect with other wrestlers who are interested in the medical field, both at Duke and back in New England, to discuss my own career and provide advice based on my pathway to medicine. Being able to still get into the wrestling room to train while giving back to those interested in medicine has been a very rewarding aspect of staying at Duke.
We hear you’ve been moonlighting as a wrestling commentator this season! How did you come about that role and what have been some of the highlights interacting with the sport in an alternative capacity?
I was the kid who woke up to watch SportsCenter with my Dad before school and on weekends. Growing up in Connecticut, the backdrop of the ESPN campus at one point had me dreaming about being a broadcaster for games or host of SportsCenter. I grew up a huge Boston sports fan, reading and listening to Bill Simmons, and listening to hours of ESPN radio with my dad while driving to tournaments.
As I found myself falling more in love with wrestling, I followed the sport in college as closely as I could. I tried to become as knowledgeable as possible through reading Jason Bryant and Earl Smith, two historians of the sport. I also felt I could use what I was learning to help my teammates and coaches.
Getting an opportunity to provide commentary was really a stroke of luck and fortune. With the expansion of streaming, more wrestling matches are being broadcast on TV and online, which has allowed more fans to consume the sport. Last year, Duke was looking to find a fill-in for color commentary, and I got a call from Coach Lanham who knew I would love the opportunity. I was able to connect with Duke’s excellent production staff and was lucky enough to get a chance to call the Duke-Pittsburgh dual.
I loved my time competing at Duke and in the ACC, and being able to interact with the sport through commentary at my home institution is something I have loved getting to do. Getting to work with the great Dean Linke, who has 30 years of play-by-play experience, has been one of the highlights of my professional life. Dean has taught me so much in our short time together and I am so grateful he advocated for me to have the opportunity to call the ACC Wrestling Championship in its return to Cameron Indoor Stadium earlier this month. Getting to work a three-man booth with Dean and Jacob Kasper, a two-time All-American for Duke and one of my best friends in the world, was one of the most fun things I’ve gotten to do professionally. Getting to work under the ESPN umbrella at Duke was honestly a dream come true.
Any plans to continue commentating into next season? If so, where can we catch matches?
I would love to continue to commentate for Duke and the ACC. I have a deep love for the sport and providing commentary doesn’t feel like work at all. Still being associated with our wrestling program through this capacity is really special to me, and I would love to work the ACC Championship again in the future. Hopefully you’ll see me on ACC Network and ACC Network Extra, but regardless, tune in for some great wrestling action. ACC Friday Night Duals with Shawn Kenney and Rock Harrison is the best weekly show in college wrestling.
Anything else you’d like to share about the Duke Wrestling program or your experiences commentating this season?
I can assuredly say that Duke Wrestling has changed my life for the better. I was able to meet my wife, Leigh, who has been so supportive of my goals on and off the mat. I even proposed in front of Card Gym and Wilson Recreation Center on campus given it was a place that brought us together during our time as students.
I was also able to luck into my first shadowing experience at Duke University Hospital in radiology, where I learned that medicine was the career for me. The coaching and faculty were so supportive of my academic and career goals and sacrificed their own time to make sure I was given the opportunity to pursue this career.
I am so incredibly grateful for the family I found through wrestling here, and being teammates with my fellow Duke wrestlers has been a highlight of life. I'm thankful that my teammates and coaches invested their time in me and how this program changed the trajectory of my life.
