Jamy Bechler is in his second year as head coach of the Martin Methodist College women's basketball program. His 2010-2011 RedHawks finished 4th in the nation in scoring at nearly 84 ppg. He also coached a third team NAIA All-American and had six players earn TranSouth Scholar-Athlete awards.
He joined the RedHawks from Bryan College, where he spent the previous three seasons leading them to a national ranking, a Top-25 Academic finish and distinction as the top rebounding team in the nation.
Coach Bechler has 15 years of collegiate coaching experience, including 9 as a head women’s coach at Martin Methodist College, Bryan College, Tennessee Temple University and LeTourneau University. He has also served as an assistant women’s coach at Newberry College and an assistant with the men’s program at Anderson University and Kent State University.
While at Bryan College, Bechler’s teams were known for their toughness and rebounding. In his three years, the Lady Lions finished in the NAIA’s Top-10 for Rebounding Margin culminating in an incredible +18 rpg average during the 2009-2010 season. In addition to rebounding prowess, his teams were constantly winning the free throw game. During the 2009-2010 season alone, the Bryan team fouled the least amount in the conference, shot more free throws than anyone in the conference and made 75% of their shots (first in the conference). Defensively, the Lady Lions were first in the conference in FG Pct. Defense and Scoring Defense. Bechler also coached the national assist leader, Becca Sharpe, during the 2008-2009 season.
Prior to Bryan College, Bechler spent a year each at Tennessee Temple University and Newberry College. At Temple, he took over a program that had only three returners and had lost 80% of its scoring from the previous year. At Newberry, he was the top assistant for a team that earned a trip to the NCAA-II National Tournament. While with the Lady Indian program, he won recruiting battles against DI’s and helped lead the team to Top-5 rankings in Rebounding and Defense, while coaching two players that would go on to play professionally.
During his four years at LeTourneau University in Texas, he was chosen the NCCAA Central Region and the American Southwest Conference East Division Coach of the Year in 2003. His teams also set 11 school, conference and national records for three-point shooting at the NCAA-III school.
Bechler started out on the men’s side as an graduate assistant for Gary Waters at Kent State University. Bechler was there as the foundation was layed for a Golden Flash team that would reach the NCAA’s Elite Eight just a few years later. From Kent, he went to Anderson University in Indiana to coach for Denny Lehnus, who has won more than 800 games in his career.
In addition to his college experience, in 2005, Bechler led a group of Texas high school all-stars to the championship of the King Kamehameha Basketball Classic in Honolulu, Hawaii. His team was undefeated in that tournament.
Bechler grew up in Michigan where he attended Jonesville High School and played basketball for the legendary Bill Dunn. He is a graduate of Hiram College in Ohio, where he lettered in basketball, football and track. He earned his Master's degree in physical education at Kent State. He married Tabitha Starcher in August of 1999. The couple have a son, Jaylen, that was born in November of 2009.
