Men's Basketball
Botts, Ben
Ben Botts
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
- Email:
- bpbotts@bsu.edu
- Alma Mater:
- Fort Wayne, 2011
- Phone:
- 765-285-8337
- Years at Ball State:
- 4th season in 2021-22
Muncie native Ben Botts joined the Ball State men’s basketball staff in May 2018 after spending the previous four years as an assistant with his alma mater Fort Wayne. He enters his seventh season with the Cardinals in 2024-25.
Botts serves as recruiting coordinator and oversees offensive game-planning. In his first year in Muncie, he helped the Cardinals secure a 2019 signing class rated as the best in the MAC by 247Sports, headlined by Indiana Mr. Basketball finalist Luke Bumbalough.
He also works directly with the BSU backcourt players. In his two years with the Cardinals, he has mentored a pair of All-MAC guards in Tayler Persons and Ishmael El-Amin and the 2019-20 MAC Freshman of the Year in point guard Jarron Coleman.
Botts helped Ball State to a MAC West Division Championship in 2019-20. The Cardinals were primed for a postseason run, entering the MAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, before the tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
Before his arrival at Ball State, Botts helped guide Fort Wayne to four consecutive postseason appearances, including the school’s first-ever NIT berth in 2016 and three trips to the CIT. The Mastodons also notched a pair of memorable victories over Indiana in his final two seasons, including one when the Hoosiers were ranked third in the country.
Botts was the director of basketball operations at Princeton in 2013-14, helping the Tigers to a 21-9 record. He spent the two seasons before that as a graduate assistant at Xavier and was part of the Musketeers’ 2012 Sweet 16 run.
Botts’ teams have had winning records in eight of his nine years on the bench in college basketball. He has coached teams with 24 wins (Fort Wayne, 2014-15) and 23 wins (Xavier, 2011-12).
A standout guard during his playing days in Fort Wayne, Botts finished his career fourth on the Mastodons’ career scoring list with 1,400 points. He helped the program to its first two winning seasons as an NCAA Division I member.
Botts was named to the All-Summit League Second Team in 2011. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a two-time recipient of the NCAA Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Association Scholar Athlete award.
Botts graduated from Muncie Central High School in 2007 after a stellar career that included back-to-back appearances in the Class 4A state championship game.
He is married to the former Jordan Zuppe, who played for the women’s basketball at Fort Wayne. The couple has a son, Archie, born in 2019.
Botts serves as recruiting coordinator and oversees offensive game-planning. In his first year in Muncie, he helped the Cardinals secure a 2019 signing class rated as the best in the MAC by 247Sports, headlined by Indiana Mr. Basketball finalist Luke Bumbalough.
He also works directly with the BSU backcourt players. In his two years with the Cardinals, he has mentored a pair of All-MAC guards in Tayler Persons and Ishmael El-Amin and the 2019-20 MAC Freshman of the Year in point guard Jarron Coleman.
Botts helped Ball State to a MAC West Division Championship in 2019-20. The Cardinals were primed for a postseason run, entering the MAC Tournament as the No. 3 seed, before the tournament was canceled because of COVID-19.
Before his arrival at Ball State, Botts helped guide Fort Wayne to four consecutive postseason appearances, including the school’s first-ever NIT berth in 2016 and three trips to the CIT. The Mastodons also notched a pair of memorable victories over Indiana in his final two seasons, including one when the Hoosiers were ranked third in the country.
Botts was the director of basketball operations at Princeton in 2013-14, helping the Tigers to a 21-9 record. He spent the two seasons before that as a graduate assistant at Xavier and was part of the Musketeers’ 2012 Sweet 16 run.
Botts’ teams have had winning records in eight of his nine years on the bench in college basketball. He has coached teams with 24 wins (Fort Wayne, 2014-15) and 23 wins (Xavier, 2011-12).
A standout guard during his playing days in Fort Wayne, Botts finished his career fourth on the Mastodons’ career scoring list with 1,400 points. He helped the program to its first two winning seasons as an NCAA Division I member.
Botts was named to the All-Summit League Second Team in 2011. He was a CoSIDA Academic All-District selection and a two-time recipient of the NCAA Division I-AAA Athletic Director's Association Scholar Athlete award.
Botts graduated from Muncie Central High School in 2007 after a stellar career that included back-to-back appearances in the Class 4A state championship game.
He is married to the former Jordan Zuppe, who played for the women’s basketball at Fort Wayne. The couple has a son, Archie, born in 2019.
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