Ryan "Rock" Perrotte joined the Nittany Lions as an assistant coach in June 2024 after spending the previous 22 seasons at Purdue Fort Wayne, including the last nine as the team's head coach. He is set to begin his third season in Happy Valley in 2026-27.
Perrotte's first two seasons at Penn State were a success with both resulting in the Nittany Lions winning the EIVA Tournament and playing in the NCAA Tournament. The 2025 team posted a win over Daemen in the NCAA Opening Round. The 2026 team qualified for the first-ever 12-team edition of the NCAA Tournament.
Perrotte had a storied history with Purdue Fort Wayne, including his time as a player from 1996-99, assistant coach from 2002-15 and head coach from 2016-24. As an assistant, he helped guide the Mastodons to two NCAA Tournament appearances. He succeeded longtime head coach Arnie Ball in 2016 and went on to lead the team to 113 wins in his first collegiate head coaching position.
In addition to his collegiate coaching resume, Perrotte picked up international coaching experience as the head coach of Team USA in the 2019 World University Games held in Napoli, Italy. He has also been the coach of USA Volleyball High Performance A3, A2, and A1 summer camps since 2012.
Perrotte coached players to nine AVCA All-America honorable mention awards while at the helm of the Purdue Fort Wayne program. Additionally, the Mastodons racked up 23 All-MIVA honors, including 13 first-team accolades, during that time. The team posted numerous wins over nationally-ranked opponents, including a victory over then-No. 3 UC Irvine in 2018. The Mastodons made a run to the MIVA Championship match in 2022 thanks to an upset over second-seeded Loyola Chicago in the semifinal round.
A four-year starter at middle blocker for the Mastodons during his playing days, Perrotte earned second-team All-MIVA recognition as a senior in 1999 while helping the team go 23-9 and earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.
Perrotte, a native of Windsor, Ontario, earned a bachelor's degree in business accounting from IU Fort Wayne and went on to add a master's degree in professional communications from Purdue Fort Wayne. He has spent time as a sports broadcaster, in both play-by-play and color commentary, since 1999.