Southwest men’s basketball head coach Bryan Bender has completed his coaching staff for the 2018-19 season with the addition of Jeff Diepenbrock, Reggie Chambers and Bryce Woodliff.
Diepenbrock, a native of Wilmington, North Carolina, comes to Southwest after six years with Georgia State University. Diepenbrock spent four years at GSU as the video coordinator as well as two as a graduate assistant under Ron Hunter, the all-time winningest coach in GSU and IUPUI history.
In 2018, Diepenbrock was named to the NABC Under Armour 30 Under 30 list, recognizing the top 30 coaches in the country under the age of 30. Before his time at GSU, he was a student manager at Virginia Tech under current ESPN analyst Seth Greenberg.
Diepenbrock is a 2012 graduate of Virginia Tech with a degree in history and received a Master’s degree in Sports Administration from GSU in 2014.
Bears head coach Bryan Bender said he has “known Jeff for a little over four years and know he will bring a lot of positive attributes to Southwest. He is eager to get on the floor to coach and can’t wait to hit the road to recruit. He brings excellent connections from all over the Southeast and has valuable experience after working at Georgia State and Virginia Tech over the past 10 years.”
Chambers, a native of Queens, New York, joins the Bears on a volunteer basis after spending last season in a supporting role at Arkansas State University. While at ASU, he was instrumental in the development of Devin Simms, an NJCAA All-American at Connors State and 2nd Team All-Sunbelt Conference player this past season.
Chambers’ coaching career also includes stops at Division II powerhouse Barry University, Delta State University, Liberty University and Central Wyoming Collge (an NJCAA Division I program).
Prior to the start of his coaching career, Chambers spent time playing professionally in Uruguay and the Dominican Republic.
Chambers is a 2012 graduate of West Virginia Wesleyan College with a Bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice. As a senior, Chambers helped the team to one of the best seasons in school history (22-9) which included a second-straight appearance in the NCAA tournament. He was second in the conference, and in the top 10 in the nation, in assists.
He began his collegiate playing career at Florida Gulf Coast University where he earned Atlantic Sun All-Freshman honors and was fourth all-time in assists.
Bender said Chambers “will be a huge asset to our program at Southwest. The former Division I and professional basketball player brings excellent experience and pedigree to our staff. (He) has won everywhere he has been as a player and coach. He is an extremely hard working young coach and brings a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm to our program and college.”
Woodliff, a native of Roanoke, Virginia, joins the Bears in a volunteer role after spending last season as varsity assistant coach at Roanoke Catholic High School.
Woodliff spent his freshman year of college playing at Georgia Southern University, an NCAA Division I program in the Sun Belt Conference. He then finished his career at NCAA Division III Roanoke College, playing two years before having his career cut short due to injuries.
In 2017, Woodliff received a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration (with a minor in Healthcare Administration) from Roanoke College.
Bender said Woodliff is “an up and coming coach who will bring a ton of energy to our program. After playing three years at the NCAA Division I and III levels, he has been a very successful basketball trainer in the Southeast. He has built his own brand and will be a huge asset by helping make our players better on the court and in workouts.”
“I am extremely excited about the coaching staff we were able to create here,” Bender continued. “We have a unique blend of hard working, up and coming coaches who will spend countless hours making our program better on and off the court. We have a lot of passion and great energy that will be extremely relatable to our team and community and I can’t wait to work together to build a championship program here at Southwest.”
