Coach Coleman Bender joined the Central State coaching staff in October of 2021.
Prior to arriving at CSU, Bender spent one season at Garden City Community College. At Garden City, Coach Bender’s duties involved player development, recruiting, daily basketball operations, and team travel responsibilities. Coaching the women's program, Bender helped Garden City to a record of 13-11 overall record with a 12-11 mark in KJCCC play. He also helped develop one player as All-KJCCC Second Team selection and four players as All-KJCCC Honorable Mentions.
Prior to Garden City, Bender coached for two seasons at Chesapeake College. While with the Chesapeake College women's program, his duties were to be responsible for all offensive strategies and scouting. He was also involved with player development, recruiting, and team travel responsibilities. During his two seasons at Chesapeake, the team went 40-13 overall while winning the NJCAA Region XX 2018-19 championship and earning an appearance in the NJCAA National Tournament. He also developed two players that were Region XX 1st Team selections, one player that was selected Region XX tournament MVP, and two players that were named All-Region XX Honorable Mentions.
Bender spent the 2017-18 season at St. Louis Community College where he was responsible for guard development, recruiting, and scouting. He was also involved with team travel, pre- and post-game meal planning, and served as adjunct faculty in Physical Education. While at St. Louis Community College, Bender helped guide his team to a 13-0 start to the season and a final overall record of 25-4, with the team being ranked as high as No. 4. He also helped develop two All-Region XVI selections and one Region XVI Player of the Year.
Prior to St. Louis Community College, Bender was on the staff for two seasons at Colby Community College. His duties included guard development, recruiting, and scouting. He was also involved with team travel, pre- and post-game meal planning, and managing the recruitment database of future student athletes.
A native of Lawrence, Mississippi, Bender served honorably and retired from the United States Army after 20 years of service as an Armament Repairer and working in facility management. During his time of service, he was deployed three times serving in Bosnia (1996), Baghdad, Iraq (2004-2005), and Mosul, Iraq (2007-2009).
Bender was also an assistant for the All-Army Women’s Basketball team. In 2014, he helped guide them to a gold medal in the Armed Forces tournament and was selected to be the assistant for the All-Armed Forces tournament to represent Team USA in Angiers, France for the Military World Basketball Championships and coached the team to a bronze medal. Bender was also the Boys’ Assistant at Fayetteville Christian School in Fayetteville, North Carolina and Petersburg, Virginia with many of his players moving on to play at the NJCAA and NCAA levels.
Bender earned a Master’s degree in Sports Management in 2014 from Liberty University and a Bachelor’s degree in Technical Management in 2013 from Devry University.
In addition to his duties serving on the coaching staff, Bender was named the Athletic Department's Coordinator of Development in October of 2022.
