Bio

Twitter: @vbcoachbentley, @StatesmenMVB

Luke Bentley is in his sixth year as Head Men’s Volleyball Coach.

In five years at the helm, Bentley has turned the start-up program into a national contender. He has a career record of 79-58 (49-33 Heart of America Athletic Conference), headlined by going 24-7 in 2024 and taking the team to the NAIA National Championship Semifinals.  His 2022 team also qualified for NAIA Nationals.

Bentley has coached 19 All-Americans, 17 all-Heart performers, one Heart Player of the Year, one Heart Middle Blocker of the Year, one AVCA-NAIA Player of the Year, one AVCA-NAIA Newcomer of the Year, 14 Heart Scholar-Athletes, and 14 NAIA Scholar-Athletes.  He has been named Heart Coach of the Year twice (2022, 2024).

A Thirty Under 30 honoree from the American Volleyball Coaches Association in 2021, he has presented on multiple occasions at the AVCA Convention.

Bentley came to WPU from fellow Heart institution Clarke University where he served as an assistant men’s coach for two seasons. While at Clarke, he guided the Pride to a 32-27 overall record (11-9 Heart). The team held a top-10 ranking in the NAIA in 2016-2017.

Bentley guided one player to All-America status, while three were first-team all-Heart selections. Five others received either second-team or honorable-mention recognition. One individual was also named Heart Attacker of the Year, while two garnered Defensive Player of the Year laurels.

Bentley was also the Head Girls’ Volleyball Coach at Maquoketa HS in 2017 and led two players to all-conference awards.

A 2013 graduate of Manchester University (Ind.) with a degree in K-12 Health and Physical Education, Bentley also earned his Master’s of Education degree (concentration in Athletic Administration) from Central Methodist University in 2016.

Bentley was a student coach for the women’s team at Manchester from 2009-2013 and a graduate assistant coach with the Central Methodist women from 2015-2016. During his tenure at CMU, the Eagles combined for a 62-16 record (36-6 in 2016), and he coached two first-team all-Heart performers in addition to three second-teamers and one all-region honoree. CMU posted a 3.67 Team Grade Point Average in 2016 which ranked third in the NAIA.

He also has experience at the high school level at Patagonia HS (Ariz.) from 2013-2015 as well as the club level with the Santa Fe Vipers (Mo.) from 2015-2016; both were with the girls’ teams.

Bentley has coached at numerous high school and collegiate camps, most notably at the University of Wisconsin, the University of Michigan, and the University of Nebraska.  Additionally, he led the Iowa High Performance U19 team at the USA All-Star Championships in 2022.

BENTLEY’S COACHING CAREER AT WPU

2024 24-7 (14-4 HEART) (Heart Regular Season Co-Champion, NAIA Nationals Semifinals)
2023 16-10 (14-4 HEART)
2022 23-9 (14-4 HEART) (NAIA Nationals)
2021 10-17 (5-12 HEART
2020 6-15 (2-9 HEART)
CAREER 79-58 (49-33 HEART) (.577)