Ben Bennett - Wrestling Coach - Central Michigan University Athletics

Photo by: Allissa Rusco

Ben Bennett

Title:
Associate Head Coach
E-Mail Address:
benne1bd@cmich.edu
Year at CMU:
1st year as Head Coach/11th year at CMU
Hometown:
Rockford, Mich.
Alma Mater/Year:
Central Michigan/2013

Ben Bennett, one of the most decorated wrestlers in Central Michigan history, was named the Chippewas’ coach on April 23, 2024 by Zyzelewski Family Associate Vice President/Director of Athletics Amy Folan.

Bennett succeeded legendary coach Tom Borrelli, one of the most highly respected names in collegiate wrestling who led the Chippewas to unprecedented success over 33 seasons.

Bennett, 34, served as an assistant on Borrelli’s staff for 11 seasons, beginning in 2013-14. In 2022-23, he was promoted to associate head coach.

Bennett joined Borrelli and fellow assistants Colin Heffernan and Matt Stencel in leading the Chippewas to a first-place finish in the 2024 Mid-American Conference Championships.

Nine Chippewas placed at the MAC Championships with one, Alex Cramer (174 pounds), claiming a title. Three Chippewas – Cramer, Johnny Lovett and Corbyn Munson – qualified for the NCAA Championships.

That trio is among the dozens of wrestlers who have found success in the MAC tournament and at the NCAA Championships since Bennett joined Borrelli in leading the program. Fourteen times since 2013-14 has a Chippewa captured a MAC title. CMU wrestlers have earned All-America honors a combined seven times during that same span.

Four times during Bennett’s tenure has a Chippewa wrestler earned an individual honor in the MAC Championships. Stencel, then the Chippewas’ heavyweight, twice was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year (2020 and 2022), an honor that Bennett himself earned in 2013. Stencel was named the Outstanding Wrestler at the 2022 MAC Championships, two years after CMU’s Dresden Simon earned the prestigious honor.

A native of Rockford, Mich., Bennett is the only four-time All-American in CMU history and is one of three Chippewas to have earned four MAC individual titles.

Bennett placed fourth at 184 pounds in the NCAA Championships in 2013, his senior year. In 2010, he was sixth at 174, becoming the fourth freshman in program history to earn All-America honors. He placed eighth at 174 in 2011 and was sixth at 184 in 2012.

Bennett twice earned the Chick Sherwood Award as CMU’s most valuable wrestler, was named the MAC Wrestler of the Year in 2012, and in 2010 earned the MAC Freshman of the Year Award. In 2023, he was inducted into the Marcy Weston CMU Athletics Hall of Fame.

Bennett ranks seventh in CMU history with 121 career victories (against 24 losses) and his career win percentage, .834, is fourth all-time. In 2013, he finished 31-2 for a .939 win percentage, the second best in program history. He also won a school-record 30 consecutive matches during that season.