Brenton Benware enters his fourth season as head men's soccer coach after being named to the position in July 2017.

The 2019 season saw numerous program records fall and the Golden Eagles returning to the NAIA National Championships for the sixth time in program history. En route to the national tournament, Benware guided John Brown to its first-ever Sooner Athletic regular season title and the program's second-ever SAC tournament crown. JBU boasted, among eight All-Conference selections, the league's Player of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year, Goalkeeper of the Year and Newcomer of the Year, in addition to Benware collecting his first-career Coach of the Year accolades. The squad piled up 17 wins on the season, tying the 1991 and 1993 teams for the most wins in a single season, as the Golden Eagles defeated Southeastern (Fla.) in the NAIA Opening Round, before falling to national semifinalist Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in the Round of 32.

In his first season at the helm at JBU, Benware led the Golden Eagles to a watershed moment when John Brown bested No. 1 Oklahoma Wesleyan in Bartlesville, 2-1, a program first. That victory came just weeks after JBU went to Olathe, Kan. and stole a 2-1 win over No. 3 MidAmerica Nazarene (Kan.). Benware then went on to lead John Brown to three more top-25 victories in his second season.

Since taking the position, a pair of Golden Eagles have gone on to sign professional contracts. Ryan Williams '19 signed on with New Mexico United (United States, 2nd Division), while Conner Haney '19 inked a deal with Nybro IF (Sweden, 3rd Division).

Benware most recently served as the head coach at Montreat (N.C.) where he spent a total of six seasons, from 2008-2010 and again from 2014-16, totaling a 53-48-6 mark (.523). Leading the Cavaliers, he coached 14 All-Appalachian Athletic selections in addition to a two-time AAC Player of the Year, two AAC Freshmen of the Year and an NAIA All-America honorable mention.

The Cavaliers made some noise over the six seasons, knocking off a pair of top-25 opponents, including a watershed 1-0 win at then-No. 1 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) in 2008, part of a seven-match winning streak. That same season, Montreat climbed as high as No. 11 in the weekly NAIA coaches' poll.

From 2011-13, Benware made his way to Williamsburg, Ky. to lead Cumberlands for a trio of seasons, combining for a 27-21-4 (.598) record and knocking off six top-25 opponents in the fierce MidSouth Conference.

Perhaps most impressively, during his career, Benware has coached student-athletes that have combined for 45 All-Conference Academic accolades over the past nine seasons, including over a dozen NAIA Scholar-Athletes.

Once recruited by legendary JBU head men's soccer coach Bob Gustavson, Benware chose to play collegiately at Oklahoma Wesleyan and, before his graduation in 2002, amassed a trio of All-Midlands Collegiate Athletic Conference selections and an NCCAA All-America distinction as a senior.

Just two years later, OKWU tapped Benware to head both the men's and women's soccer programs. He coached both teams for a pair of seasons before guiding the men's team for another two from 2006-07.

Benware also earned a Master of Arts in Christian Leadership from Liberty University in 2010 and holds NSCAA National, Advanced National and Premier Diplomas.

Benware, and his wife Kelly, resides in Siloam Springs with their three children, Riley, Micah and Jaxon.