Bonnies Baseline: Living the Dream

Heading into his first season with the Bonnies, senior Ryan Heath is living out one of his biggest childhood dreams: playing Division I basketball.

“My lifelong goal was to make it big and play Division I,” said Heath.

Heath was born and grew up in Rochester, New York, alongside four siblings. Though basketball wasn’t his first interest, he credits his brothers for introducing him to the sport.

“I was a football player before a basketball player,” said Heath. “But my older brothers and I used to play downstairs in our basement on a little court every day just for fun. As we kept doing that though, I started falling in love with the game of basketball.”

While playing high school basketball at Irondequoit High School, Heath made a name for himself. As a four-year starter for the Eagles, he became the program’s all-time leading scorer with 1,094 points. Twice in his career, he was named All-Greater Rochester First Team, and he earned All-Greater Rochester Player of the Year honors in his senior season. 

That year, Irondequoit won the Section V championship and advanced to states, where they finished as runner-up.

“That was an amazing group of guys,” said Heath. “We went into sectionals on a three-game losing streak, actually. We kept winning though and made it all the way to states. Travelling with the guys and experiencing that moment with them was a great feeling.”

Following his high school career, Heath committed to Daemen University to play for Coach MacDonald. In his true freshman season, Heath primarily came off the bench in 29 games and averaged 9.1 minutes. As he continued to develop, the Irondequoit product saw his production increase in his sophomore year as he increased his scoring output and played 14.1 minutes a game.

Heath’s junior year proved to be a breakout season. Starting all 35 of the Wildcats’ games in 2025-26, Heath averaged over 28 minutes a night with nearly 10 points a game.

According to Heath, his development over three seasons at Daemen can be traced back to Coach MacDonald.

“He’s a great coach. We’ve built chemistry since I was a freshman coming into college,” said Heath. “He’s trusted me throughout the years. From my freshman year, playing nothing, to my junior year, playing every minute. He made me a better person and a better basketball player.”

One of the most impressive parts of Heath’s game is his ability to drive to the basket. In his three seasons at Daemen, he never had a field goal percentage under 46 percent. In his junior year when he averaged over 28 minutes a game, Heath shot 51 percent from the field.

“My game is flashy and creative. Different from everyone else,” said Heath. “When people see my play style, they try to say I have a funny way of scoring and getting to the cup because of how fast I am.”

After a 33-2 finish for the Wildcats and a trip to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in the 2025-26 season, MacDonald was hired by St. Bonaventure as the 20th head coach in program history. Several of Daemen’s top players followed, including Heath, Zach Philipkowski and Benjamin Bill.

The decision for Heath to join his coach at St. Bonaventure was an easy one, and one that he doesn’t regret.

“I wanted to get the Division I experience,” said Heath. “I was at Daemen for three years, so I wanted to try something new. [St. Bonaventure] isn’t too far from home, and the campus itself seemed really nice.”

Now that Heath has had some time to settle into his life at St. Bonaventure, one aspect of the Olean community has stuck out to him: The love of Bonnies basketball.

“The community has really embraced us,” said Heath. “Going out to stores or restaurants, people are saying ‘Go Bonnies’ and welcoming us to the team. They’re showing that love that, anywhere else I’ve gone, I’ve never really gotten. In Olean, New York, people really love the community of basketball and root for us.”