Eastern Washington men’s basketball head coach Dan Monson announced the hiring of three assistant coaches to his 2024-25 staff today. Ryan Lundgren joins Monson as an Associate Head Coach and Larry Anderson will be an Assistant Coach. Ben Beauchamp will stay in Cheney, retaining his position as Assistant Coach.
Ryan Lundgren
Lundgren comes to EWU after spending the last season as the head coach for Carroll College. In the 2023-24 season, the Saints went 12-3 in the Frontier Conference and 19-12 overall. Carroll defeated the University of Providence in the conference tournament semifinals to advance to the championship where they fell to Montana Tech. The Saints were then selected to play in the NAIA National Tournament against Cornerstone University (Mich.) in the first round.
Prior to Carroll, Lundgren was the associate head coach at the College of Southern Idaho from 2019 to 2023. In the 2022-23 season, Southern Idaho went undefeated (29-0) and finished as the No. 1 team in the NJCAA Rankings. The team won the regular season titles in 2023 and 2021, with the tournament title in ’23. CSI qualified for the NJCAA national tournament in 2021 and ’22 as well.
Lundgren’s first head coaching job was at Vallivue High School from 2015 to 2019. He earned Idaho Press Tribune Boy’s Athletics Coach of the year for the 2016-17 season after leading Vallivue to the Idaho 4A state title game. Vallivue also won the 2018-19 Southern Idaho Conference regular season title.
Lundgren began his coaching career at Boise State University as the Director of Player Development from 2011 to 2015. He graduated from Boise State with his Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication/Journalism in 2012 and earned his Masters Degree in Educational Leadership in 2015.
Monson on Lundgren
“It was important for me to find a head assistant that has experience in all facets of a basketball program, including head coaching experience. Ryan is that perfect fit, and he has won at every stop in his career. I have known and respected Ryan from his days at Boise State, where we had a professional relationship. I trust him as a coach and recruiter as well as a person. He has flourished in roles of doing more with less, and I have full confidence in his basketball knowledge, as well as his ability to relate and mentor our student-athletes.”
Larry Anderson
Anderson follows Monson from Long Beach to Eastern after working as an assistant coach for the 2023-24 season. He was key in helping LBSU’s run to the Big West Tournament Championship and a NCAA Tournament berth. With Anderson’s guidance, LBSU ranked first in the Big West in scoring offense (77.4), offensive rebounds (12.5), blocked shots (4.2) and steals (7.9).
LBSU finished the season with a 21-15 overall record and 10-10 in the Big West. The team was the only school in the country to have a win over a Big 10 (Michigan), Big East (DePaul) and a Pac-12 school (USC). In the classroom, LBSU earned a 3.2 team GPA, the highest mark in program history.
Anderson also worked directly to develop three All-Big West players in forward Aboubacar Traore (First Team), forward Lassina Traore (Second Team) and guard Marcus Tshonis (Honorable Mention).
Before working at LBSU, Anderson was an assistant coach at Cerritos College (Norwalk, Calif.) in the 2022-23 season. Anderson helped mentor student-athletes on the court and in the classroom to help them to pursue a degree at a four-year university.
Anderson is an alumni of LBSU, playing from 2008 to 2012 under Monson. In 2012, Anderson was named Big West Defensive Player of the Year as the team won the conference and appeared in the NCAA Tournament. Anderson ranks seventh in LBSU history with 1,538 points, while ranking eighth in assists (362) and ninth in rebounds (591). He was just the second player in program history to have 1500 points, 500 rebounds and 300 assists.
Anderson played in the NBA G League from 2013 to 2014 with the Springfield Armor, now know as the Grand Rapids Gold. He also played overseas with Okapi Aalstar (Belgium), Leputan Korikobrat (Finland), Maccabi Raanana (Israel) and BC Nokia (Finland).
Monson on Anderson
“Larry played for me for four years and was one of the best all around players ever to play at Long Beach State. Larry has a great feel for the game, and his knowledge of basketball, as a player, is as good as anyone I have coached in 37 years. Having played for me, it gives him insight and a bond with the current players, along with what they are going through on a daily basis. Larry is exceptional at player development and helping them grow as both players and people. Loyalty is the number one quality a good assistant must have, and Larry’s loyalty and understanding what it takes to succeed at this level is unquestioned.”
Ben Beauchamp
Beauchamp will stay in Cheney after serving three years on former Eastern head coach David Riley’s staff. Beauchamp was elevated to assistant coach last season after working as the Director of Player Development (2022-23) and as a Graduate Assistant coach (2021-22).
This past season, Beauchamp helped lead individual workouts and the team scouting plan. He broke down film and helped coordinate the staff’s recruiting strategy. Beauchamp was instrumental in the Eagles’ fundraising effort as the head of the 6th Man Club. He was EWU’s camp director in the offseason and handled the team’s finances.
Eastern won back-to-back Big Sky regular season titles, going 31-5 in conference and 44-22 overall. The Eagles roster has produced seven all-conference selections in the last two seasons, with three on the first team, two on the second and one honorable mention.
Before moving to Eastern, Beauchamp spent two seasons (2019-21) as the head assistant coach at Western Colorado University, handling similar responsibilities. Beauchamp started his coaching career at Western Colorado in the 2018-19 season as a graduate assistant.
Beauchamp played at Western Colorado during his collegiate career (2015-18), earning All-RMAC first team honors in 2018 and second team in 2017. In his career, Beauchamp scored 1,334 points and started 82 games for the Mountaineers. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Exercise and Sport Science and a Master’s Degree in Sports Administration from Western Colorado.
Taking a break from coaching, Beauchamp played professionally for CB Marbella in Marbella, Spain in 2019.
Monson on Beauchamp
“David Riley did a great job cultivating and instilling a winning culture in our program. It is a priority to continue that, and retaining Ben from the prior staff was a priority for me. He has been an integral part of the success in this program, and I am thrilled to have someone who can help with this transition period not just for the players, but for the new staff. Ben is a young up-and-coming coach with energy and enthusiasm. He has the respect of the players with his knowledge and passion for developing them on and off the court.”
https://goeags.com/news/2024/5/22/mens-basketball-monson-adds-three-assistants-to-staff.aspx
