OVERLAND PARK, Kan. –Johnson County Community College head coach Ben Conrad has been selected the World Exposure Report 2020-21 NJCAA Division II Women's Basketball Coach of the Year. Earlier this month Conrad was named the Kansas Basketball Coaches Association 2-Year Women's College Coach of the Year.
This season, Conrad led JCCC to its second undefeated regular season and finished the regular season ranked No. 1. Despite falling in the Region VI Championship, JCCC was given the first at-large bid in history to participate in the NJCAA D-II Tournament, the Lady Cavaliers reached the national championship game, falling by four points, 53-49, to Lake Land. He had two players selected NJCAA All-American and World Exposure Report All-American in Jaylen Townsend and LaJahda Boyland, and one, Presley Barton, earned WBCA All-American. He also coached two all-tournament picks, four all-conference and all-region performers, and Townsend was selected conference MVP, the fourth under his watch, and the NJCAA D-II National Women's Basketball Player of the Year, the first in team history.
Conrad tenure boasts eight straight 30-win seasons, a first in NJCAA women's basketball history, a NJCAA Division II National Championship and school record 34 wins (2015), five other NJCAA D-II Tournament appearances (2011, 2012, 2013, 2017, 2021) and six KJCCC conference titles (2012, 2013, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2021). His teams have finished as the number one or number two ranked team in the country six times and his teams have been ranked in the top 10 nearly 90 percent of his tenure, including a span of 98 consecutively. He also has held the No. 1 ranking 55 times, including all 12 polls in 2015-16, the first seven regular season polls in 2018-19 and the final three weeks this season.
He has coached 16 NJCAA All-Americans, 13 WBCA All-Americans, four World Exposure Report All-Americans, seven National All-Tournament selections including one MVP, 45 All-Region VI performers 41 All-Jayhawk Conference picks, four conference MVP selections, one conference Defensive Player of the Year, and two conference Freshmen of the Year selections. Off the court, he has had 19 student-athletes recognized for academic excellence by the NJCAA.
In 13 years at JCCC, Conrad has posted 59 wins over nationally ranked teams, including eight in 2016-17 and he has won 33 times in games against top-10 ranked programs. Conrad also owns all 10 of 10 longest wins streaks in team history, including a 43-game string that ran from Feb. 7, 2015 through March 3, 2016. Conrad also owns the top two home court winning streaks in program history, a 54-game streak that ran from Feb. 7, 2015 to Feb. 14, 2018 , and a 46-game streak that ran from Jan. 24, 2011 to Jan. 22, 2014.
Conrad's team annually are one of the top offensive teams in the NJCAA. In 13 seasons, his teams have defeated opponents by 10-or-more points 333 times. From Feb. 10, 2009 to January 7, 2011, JCCC recorded 54 consecutive double digit victories. He had another string of 46 straight that started February16, 2019 and ran until March 31, 2021, when the Lady Cavalier defeated No. 8-ranked Labette by six points, 64-58.
Conrad also prides himself on coaching fundamentally sound defensive teams, and has had 12 of his 13 teams ranked in the top 10 nationally, including leading the nation six times. In 2010-11, his defense allowed only 45.0 points per game, shattering the school record 49.5 (4th in NJCAA) established the previous year. The next season, Conrad's squad broke that mark, allowing only 44.3 points per game, which led the nation, and in 2012-13, his team again led the nation while shattering the team defensive record again, holding opponents to just 41.5 per game. JCCC made four straight years leading 2013-14 with a points per average of 47.9. In 2015-16, the Lady Cavaliers again were top defensive team, holding teams to 47.3 pee game. Last year, they held teams to 51.7 points per game, third-best nationally, and this year JCCC leads the country holding teams to just 46.7 per game, and this year's team was first in NJCAA D-II with a defensive average of 48.0.
Even more impressive, Conrad has helped 66 players of his players at Johnson County earn scholarships to four-year schools, including 22 at NCAA Division I programs. For his career, 81 players have earned scholarships, with 27 at NCAA D-I programs.