Lockman ’20 combines engineering and basketball for a well-rounded life.

RYAN LOCKMAN’S PASSION FOR BASKETBALL and his enthusiasm for engineering have always been part of the compass he uses to navigate his major life decisions. 

From his decision to travel 2,661 miles from White Salmon, Washington, to Williamsport to attend Pennsylvania College of Technology, to accepting a position in Arizona with automotive and clean energy company Tesla, Lockman’s brain has been focused on engineering, while his heart has been filled by playing the sport he loves.

Since the spring of 2021, Lockman has spent his days as a Tesla Energy Megapack Station engineer, where he services and repairs Megapacks (powerful batteries that provide large-scale energy storage), and his evenings and weekends playing in semiprofessional basketball leagues in the Phoenix area and Mexico. 

“Basketball has given me so many blessings, and I get an incredible feeling playing the sport,” Lockman explained. “It’s an amazing stress reliever, and it’s great for your physical and mental health.”

Lockman began competing in a Mexican league when he moved to Arizona, crossing the border, couch-surfing with teammates, and playing the entire weekend. The past two years, he’s played for the Arizona Rams in a local league that competes twice a week, for three months, with nearly a month of postseason play.

“I approach basketball with an engineering mindset,” said Lockman, who graduated in 2020 with a bachelor’s in electronics and computer engineering technology. “I look at the spin of the ball off a missed shot to try and predict future outcomes, and I’m always looking to get myself in the best position.”

While his passion for basketball began in third grade, Lockman’s enthusiasm for engineering started in fifth grade when his middle school offered an after-school robotics class with obstacle courses, races and battles. Lockman credits his teacher Michael Kane for “connecting the enthusiasm we had for these robot competitions to the field of engineering and the language of math.”

Armed with a full scholarship from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation after graduating from high school, Lockman was looking for a college that had an intercollegiate basketball team and good engineering program. He found Penn College to be a “perfect fit.” 

In the classroom, Lockman, who recently earned a Master of Science in Engineering in electrical engineering from Arizona State University, was a high achiever.

On the court, he played in 70 games for the Wildcats, averaging 20 minutes per game, 8.8 points and 5.4 rebounds. His analysis of the sport, and his personality in the locker room, helped Lockman excel as an athlete and as a cornerstone of a program that was rebuilding.

“Ryan was very analytical on the court,” Penn College head men’s basketball coach Geoff Hensley recalled. “He was engineered to see the nuances of the game, and that, with his natural athleticism, helped him gain an edge over other players.

“He just wanted to do his job to the best of his abilities and was willing to do whatever the team needed: Whether that was coming off the bench or starting a game, he did what was best for the team. From a character standpoint, he was exactly what the program needed.”