From The Pitch To The M7: A Pro Soccer Player Makes One Of The Biggest Decisions Of His Life

When he opened his Round 1 results last fall, Zach Ryan felt a different kind of adrenaline rush than anything he had experienced on a soccer field.

The recently retired professional player had applied to five of the world’s most selective MBA programs – Harvard Business School, Stanford GSB, Wharton, Columbia Business School, and NYU Stern. Within weeks, the answers arrived. Ryan was admitted to Wharton and Columbia, waitlisted at Stanford and NYU, and turned down by Harvard.

For most applicants, an offer from even one M7 school would mark the culmination of years of preparation. For Ryan, the results represented something else: the start of a deliberate transition from a life defined by training sessions and match days to a career shaped by investing, strategy, and potentially, the business of sport.

“Soccer was incredibly gratifying,” he says. “But over time, I found myself gravitating more toward my academic and professional interests. I started to feel that the next step for me was to build on that foundation in a more intentional way.”

A MID-CAREER PIVOT, MADE MID-SEASON

Ryan’s decision to pursue an MBA began before his retirement. It took shape in the middle of the 2024 season, when he began to imagine a future beyond professional athletics.

While continuing to play, he was also working part‑time with Attain Capital, an investment firm with ties to his club’s ownership group. The role exposed him to private equity, operations, and the financial mechanics behind professional sports – a vantage point few athletes ever see.

“I started to identify gaps in my experience, in my skills, and in my network,” he says. “Every extra hour of the day had gone into preparing for games. I realized that business school could be the fastest way to fill those gaps.”

By the end of 2024, Ryan had committed to the pivot. He retired from soccer in November and applied to MBA programs in Round 1 of 2025.

COMPETING IN A DIFFERENT ARENA

Ryan’s admissions journey reflected the uniqueness – and the complexity – of nontraditional backgrounds in elite MBA pipelines.

His interviews varied sharply by school. Stanford paired him with an alumnus for an extended one‑on‑one conversation that probed deeply into motivations and values. Columbia matched him with a current student focused on career goals. Wharton’s signature team‑based discussion offered yet another test – not of athletic ability, but of collaboration, leadership, and communication under pressure.

“It was nerve‑wracking,” Ryan recalls. “But I had a great group. Nobody tried to dominate the conversation. We worked together, built an idea, and delivered the presentation almost seamlessly.”

He lauded Wharton’s famous team-based approach: “I had a really positive experience because my group members were all awesome – really collaborative. You don’t know if you’re going to run into a Machiavellian character who dominates the conversation, but everyone was conciliatory.

“Our final presentation ended up being pretty seamless. We finished with five seconds to spare.”

FROM LOCKER ROOM TO INVESTMENT COMMITTEE

If soccer has taught him anything, Ryan says, it is not that athletes automatically possess advantages in business school – but that they must learn how to translate their experiences into value for others.

“You have to actually leverage what you’ve learned,” he says. “I’m going into business school with the mindset that I want to learn from classmates who have deeper experience in banking, consulting, and investing – and contribute where I can.”

Ryan’s professional ambitions are clear. He plans to continue in private equity, potentially returning to Attain Capital after his MBA while exploring other opportunities along the way.

His long‑term vision sits at the intersection of finance and sport – an industry he believes is entering a new phase of institutionalization and capital inflows.

“There’s so much deal activity in sports right now,” he says. “New funds, new ownership structures, new asset classes. Having seen the sport both as a player and from the ownership side, I’d love to end up investing in that space.”

At the same time, he is conscious of the transformative potential of business school itself.

“You can walk into Columbia or Wharton with one plan and walk out with something completely different,” he says. “That’s part of what makes the experience exciting.”

CHOOSING BETWEEN WHARTON & COLUMBIA

After visiting Columbia’s campus in New York, Ryan said in late January that he planned to attend Wharton’s admitted‑students weekend – even though the events fell on the same weekend.

The choice is both personal and professional. A New Jersey native with close ties to New York, Ryan is drawn to Columbia’s location and network. But the prospect of immersing himself in Wharton’s campus culture and academic ecosystem is equally compelling.

“I can genuinely see myself at both schools,” he says. “That’s what makes the decision so difficult – and so exciting.”

After his visit to Wharton, Ryan decided that was the place for him. “I decided to commit to Wharton last week,” he tells P&Q in a February 9 email.

LESSONS FROM THE APPLICATION PROCESS

Asked what advice he would offer future applicants, Ryan is pragmatic rather than romantic.

On standardized testing, he advocates intensity over duration. He took the GRE twice and believes many candidates underestimate the value of concentrated preparation.

“Start early, but don’t just drift,” he says. “A shorter, more intense study window can be more effective than months of light preparation.”

On essays, he emphasizes clarity of purpose. With the help of admissions consultants, he distilled his short‑ and long‑term goals into a concise statement that anchored every application.

And on coaching, he is unequivocal.

“For me, it was worth it,” he says. “The interview preparation alone was transformational. You’re working with people who understand how each school evaluates candidates. That changes how you present your story.”

LIFE AFTER THE FINAL WHISTLE

Retirement from professional sports has not been easy. Ryan admits he misses the rhythm of preseason, the intensity of competition, and the camaraderie of the locker room – especially as former teammates return to training camps.

But he does not second‑guess the decision.

“I already miss it,” he says. “But I feel ready for what’s next.”

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