JARED RONAI

Head Coach

Jared Ronai is the head men’s basketball coach at Mount Vernon Nazarene University (MVNU). During his time with the program he has guided the Cougars to 161 wins, with an average of 18 wins per season. Ronai’s Cougars have earned two national tournament births in 2019 and 2022, including a Sweet 16 appearance and a tie for the school record for wins-in-a-season with 27 in 2019. Over the past eight years the program has also achieved numerous Top-25 rankings in the National Polls, including Top-10 rankings in 2018-19, 2019-20, rising to has high as #4 in the country.

Ronai has established a well-known culture at Mount Vernon Nazarene focusing on the core values of Relentless effort, Unbreakable spirit, servant Leadership, and competitive Excellence (RULE). The “Why” of the program is to pursue Christ, and Christ-like character, while in the pursuit of championships. The program’s RULECougar philosophy has positioned MVNU as a highly respected program around the country.

Ronai is a graduate of Georgia Southwestern State and earned his Masters of Education degree from the University of Dayton. As a player at the collegiate level Ronai competed at both the NCAA Division I and NAIA levels, getting his start at UNC-Asheville before finishing up at Georgia Southwestern State University. At Georgia Southwestern he was the starting point guard for two seasons, helping to lead his team to the NAIA National Tournament, and received the prestigious Champions of Character Award. While in high school he played for his father, Bob Ronai, at London High School where he was a first team All-Ohio choice and the conference, county and district player of the year.

Since his playing days, Ronai has also been the assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for NCAA Division II Ashland University (Ohio) and NCAA Division I UNC-Asheville, as well as the associate head coach at Middletown High School in Middletown, Ohio. He also served as a Graduate Assistant at the University of Dayton and was a Strength and Conditioning Intern at the United States Naval Academy.

BRETT VIPPERMAN

Assistant Coach

Brett Vipperman is entering his 3rd year as an assistant coach at MVNU. Prior to MVNU, Vipperman was on staff as a graduate assistant at Covenant College in Georgia.

An MVNU alum, Vipperman was the very first recruit for Coach Ronai in 2015. Vipperman scored over 1,600 points in his career at MVNU and was a voted to the All Freshman team, two time All Crossroads League 2nd team member, and an honorable mention All American his senior season. Vipperman was a 4 year started and a member of one of the best teams in program history in 2018-19 where the Cougars won 27 games and advanced to the Sweet 16.

Vipperman and his wife, Madison, reside in Mount Vernon.

KRISTIN RONAI

Assistant Coach

Kristin Ronai, wife of Jared Ronai, was a standout out player at Warsaw River View High School, where her teams won two girls basketball D2 state titles and she was named OHSBCA’s “Miss Basketball”, the top player in the State of Ohio, her junior and senior seasons. She then went on to graduate Magna Cum Laude from the University of Dayton. While there, she played on the women’s basketball team for the Flyers where she was a four-time All-Conference honoree while serving as a three-time captain. She was also the Atlantic-10 Women’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year in 2011 and an inductee into the University of Dayton Athletic Hall of Fame in January 2020. Kristin currently serves as the Director of Compliance for the Ohio High School Athletic Association (OHSAA). The couple has three children, Kyler (8), Kamryn (5), and Kolton (2), who are frequently seen running around MVNU’s Ariel Arena.