Brennan Benson, a former distance runner for the Aggies, is in his second year as assistant coach and director of operations for Utah State’s track & field and cross country programs.
In 2025-26, Benson guided 25 student-athletes into Utah State’s top 10 all-time leaderboards, locking out four of the men’s top five 3,000-meter times. He led Landon Bott to the NCAA Indoor and Outdoor Championships, earning All American distinctions in both 800-meter runs.
Five Utah State distance records fell under Benson's oversight, as Jayden Holdsworth became the first Aggie to surpass the four-minute mile barrier. Shelby Jensen posted her name atop the 3,000m list, while Sarah Ellis beat the previous 5,000m record by over 10 seconds. Bott in the 800m and Logan Garnica in the 3,000m steeplechase each topped the Aggie leaderboards and qualified for the USA Track & Field Championships.
In his first season on staff, Benson helped the Aggies to two team titles and an individual title during the 2025 cross country season. Natalie Swain earned second-team All-Mountain West honors, placing 13th at the conference championships as the women finished fourth overall while the men finished fifth. At the NCAA Mountain Regional, the men took sixth as a team and the women placed seventh.
Benson joined the Aggies’ coaching staff after a distinguished five-year career as a member of USU’s track & field and cross country teams. Benson won Mountain West titles in the outdoor 800 meters, mile and distance medley relay and earned a total of six all-conference honors during his career. He owns the school record in the 1,500 meters with a time of 3:40.96, which he set in 2023, and holds seven other placements in the school’s all-time top-10 list. In cross country, Benson represented the Aggies at the NCAA Championships in 2022 and 2024.
Academically, Benson was a USTFCCCA All-Academic Team member in 2025, a nine-time Academic All-MW honoree and a six-time MW Scholar-Athlete selection.
Benson earned his bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in international studies from Utah State in 2024 and is currently pursuing his master’s degree in sport management at USU.
He is married to former Utah State track & field and cross country athlete Sammi Lee-Benson.