Bryan Bender is coming off his second year at Ellsworth CC after being hired as the head coach in April of 2022. He immediately established a culture and laid a foundation for continued success, both on and off the floor. The program is centered around its core values of passion, humility & discipline (PhD), and in his first two seasons the results spoke for themselves.

The 2023-24 season ended a lot of droughts for ECC. The team had a 29-win season (2nd most in school history), a Region XI Tournament Championship (1st time in 38 years) and a trip the NJCAA DII national tournament where they finished 4th nationally (best finish in 47 years). The Panthers spent every week ranked in the NJCAA top 20 poll and had 6 players earn post season awards, including 2nd team All-American Mobi Ikegwuruka and Coach Bender was named North Central District Coach of the Year.

During the 2022-23 season the Panthers spent 15 weeks ranked in the NJCAA top 20 poll, finished with a 22-10 record (highest in 10+ years), had 4 ICCAC all-region performers, had its first NJCAA All-American in over a decade (Shawn Fulcher), posted a cumulative team GPA of 3.27, had 6 Academic All-Americans, and saw 5 student-athletes earn their AA degrees. The program also witnessed numerous players catapult their academic & playing careers by signing scholarships to the next level. 12 players signed to 4-year schools, which included a nation-leading 5 NCAA DI signees. Four of these signees were true freshmen who departed after just one season with the Panthers. Of the 566 two-year programs in the country with men's basketball, no program produced more freshman NCAA DI signees than Ellsworth.

Bender came to ECC after a successful four-year stint as the head men's basketball coach at Southwest Mississippi Community College. There he was promoted after one season as an assistant coach in the spring of 2018. Bender built a program where all members are empowered to maximize their potential in the classroom, on the court, and in the community.

Academically the Bears have had tremendous success as champions in the classroom. In 2018-19 the Bear Men were named the academic team of the year after obtaining the highest team GPA in the country. In his four seasons, they have accumulated the highest grade point average (3.45) out of all 425 National Junior College Athletic Association basketball programs in the United States. In the MACCC they have won four-straight academic team of the year awards for having the highest GPA every year among the 15 institutions in Mississippi. A 100% graduation rate has also been achieved by all 40 student-athletes and managers who earned their associate degrees at Southwest.

In Bender's tenure at Southwest, the Bears compiled a 66-51 record (.564), made five postseason appearances, and had the highest-ranked victory in school history over #2 ranked Pearl River Community College which snapped their nation-leading 33-game winning streak. This win also earned Bender national recognition as he was named the JUCO Coach of the Week by hoopdirt.com. In addition to big wins, the Bears put together the largest comeback in college basketball history erasing a 34-point second-half deficit with a win over PRCC in 2018.

Bender, known across the nation for his ability to recruit, develop and produce players for the next level has helped numerous players get to the next level. At SMCC he helped produce a league-leading 22 Division I players and 19 more NAIA/NCAA DII/NCAA DIII players over a four-year span. This number includes a nation-leading ten freshmen, who qualified for DI after just one freshman season at the NJCAA level. During the 2021-22 basketball season, the Bears had a total of 30 players playing basketball on scholarship at the four-year level.

In his seven years at the Junior College level, Bender has helped 90 players who have signed four-year scholarships, 56 to the NCAA DI level including 12 top 100 ranked players.

Before taking over the program in 2018, Bender helped the 2017-2018 Bears to a 17-9 record and an MACJC State and Region XXIII Tournament appearance where they defeated the #12 ranked team in the country and earned a trip to the Regional Semi-Finals.

Prior to Southwest, Bender spent three seasons as Director of Basketball Operations at Appalachian State University, an NCAA Division I school in the Sun Belt Conference. While there; eleven players went on to continue their careers professionally, overseas. Bender was responsible for fundraising, budget management, team travel, and community service, and assisted with video and scouting reports.

In 2013-14, Bender was an assistant at Missouri State University-West Plains where he helped raise the team GPA to 3.14, and 12 players continued their careers at NCAA Division I programs.

Bender began his career at the University of Minnesota. He served as video coordinator under Hall of Fame coach, Tubby Smith, and spent his eight years overseeing scouts, student managers, and all video duties. While with the Golden Gophers, he helped them to six postseason appearances including three to the NCAA Tournament and three to the NIT. In 2013; the Golden Gophers were ranked in the Top 25 and garnered a victory in the second round of the NCAAs over UCLA.

Additionally, he has worked for USA Basketball with legendary Davidson head coach Bob McKillop. Bender holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sports Management (2008) and Masters of Education Degree (2010) in Applied Kinesiology with an emphasis in Sport Management and Coaching from the University of Minnesota.

Bender has also found a niche on podcasts & leadership platforms. He has been the guest lecturer on the virtual coach's clinic, coachtube.com, Beyond the Box Score Podcast, the Shooters Touch podcast, Fadeaways & Fundamentals Podcast, & the Rising Coaches podcast. He was also selected in the fall of 2020 to participate in the inaugural JUCO TopConnect Symposium, where he was recognized as one of the top NJCAA coaches in the country. He also serves as the Executive Director of Basketball & Sponsorships for Rising Coaches Incorporated and hosts their podcast. In his first year at Ellsworth CC, Bender was selected as the recipient of the Iowa Valley Community College District Outstanding Service Award for Leadership & Communication.

The Cambridge, Wisconsin native is married to his wife, Kristi, and they have two daughters, Livi, who was born in September of 2020 and Lainey born in January of 2024.