Washington State University Athletics

A former Cougar standout on the basketball court and 20-year coaching veteran, Bennie Seltzer returned to Pullman and completed his second season as an assistant coach on Ernie Kent’s staff in 2018-19. 

Seltzer spent the two years prior on Porter Moser’s basketball staff at Loyola Chicago as an assistant men’s basketball coach. In 2016-17, Seltzer’s Ramblers defeated the Cougars in the final game of the Paradise Jam, played at St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, Nov. 21.

A 6-foot guard, Seltzer starred at WSU from 1990-93, where he is still the school’s all-time career assists leader (473). At the point of his graduation, he held the second-best career scoring mark in school history with 1423 points (now ninth), the third-most career steals (now seventh) and the third-most minutes played (now 12th). He capped his WSU career by earning First Team All-Pac 10 honors as a senior, averaging 17.9 points per game, as he helped then-head coach Kelvin Sampson turn around the program. In honor of his standout career, Seltzer was inducted into the Pac-12 Men's Basketball Hall of Honor in 2015. 

Seltzer began his coaching career in 1997, serving as an assistant coach for nine seasons under his former coach Sampson at Oklahoma. The Sooners averaged 25 wins per season during his time in Norman and made eight NCAA Tournament trips, including runs to the Sweet 16 (1999), Elite Eight (2003) and Final Four (2002).

In 2006, Seltzer then moved on to Marquette, spending a pair of seasons on Tom Crean's coaching staff. The Golden Eagles made the NCAA Tournament both seasons and Seltzer followed Crean to Indiana, where he was an assistant coach for four years. While in Bloomington, Seltzer was instrumental in recruiting some top-level talent to help the Hoosiers' rebuilding project, bringing in Victor Oladipo and Christian Watford among others as part of a group that would form the foundation of IU's 2012-13 squad that spent 10 weeks ranked No. 1 in the national poll and earned a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament.

In 2012, Seltzer returned to his hometown of Birmingham, Ala. and was named the head coach at Samford University. He unquestionably raised the talent level during his two seasons there, seeing Tim Williams (2013) and Isaiah Williams (2014) earn Southern Conference Freshman of the Year honors, while Williams matured into a First Team All-SoCon pick his sophomore year. After his departure from Samford, Seltzer returned to Bloomington in January 2015 and served as Crean's director of player performance for six months.

In addition to his collegiate experience, Seltzer was one of four court coaches for USA Basketball's national team trials in July 2004, conducting drills, coaching scrimmages and developing players for the group vying for spots on the 2004 USA World Championship for Young Men Qualifying Team. The eventual 12-man team went on to win the gold medal, winning all five of its games.

Seltzer entered the coaching profession after a successful playing career that began at Washington State and took him overseas upon graduation. After leaving Pullman, Seltzer embarked on a four-year professional career that took him to Turkey, Venezuela, Poland and Holland. A native of Birmingham, Ala., Seltzer graduated from A.H. Parker High School in 1989.

He and his wife, DicQues, have two sons; Diamond - who is a Private First Class in the U.S. Marine Corps - and Bennie III.


The Bennie Seltzer File
•    In two years at Loyola, helped develop four all-conference performers, including Loyola’s first First Team honoree, Milton Doyle. 
•    Coached two Southern Conference Freshmen of the Year while head coach at Samford. 
•    Brought in talent to Indiana as the Hoosiers earned a No. 1 ranking in 2012-13, including a No. 1 seed for the NCAA Tournament, a year after Seltzer’s departure.
•    Assisted in NCAA Tournament appearances in his two seasons at Marquette (2007, 2008).
•    In nine years at Oklahoma, helped guide the Sooners to eight NCAA Tournaments, including runs to the Sweet 16 (1999), Elite Eight (2003) and Final Four (2002).

Education: Washington State (Sociology), 1993.

Coaching Experience:
1997-2006: Oklahoma – Assistant Coach
2006-08: Marquette – Assistant Coach
2008-12: Indiana – Assistant Coach
2012-14: Samford – Head Coach
2014-15: Indiana – Director of Player Performance
2015-17: Loyola – Assistant Coach
2017-Present: Washington State – Assistant Coach

Playing Experience:
1989-93: Washington State
1993-97: Holland, Poland, Turkey, Venezuela 

Family:
Wife – DicQues; Sons – Diamond and Bennie III