Bethel head men's basketball coach Jayson Artaz becomes all-time program wins leader
On Jan. 15, the men's basketball team defeated Tabor, bringing Artaz to 132 career wins and securing his spot as the all-time men's basketball coach wins leader
On Wednesday, Jan. 15th, the Thresher men’s basketball team defeated Tabor, securing head coach Jayson Artaz’s 132nd career win, and putting him in the Bethel record books as the all-time wins leader for men’s basketball.
Before Artaz became the head coach at Bethel, he was a player here from 2001-2005. He was a second-team all-conference player in 2005 while holding the single-season three point record that year, with a total of 96 made triples on the season.
After his time as a student at Bethel, Artaz spent time as a coach of the younger generation as well as a teacher before becoming an assistant basketball coach at Bethel under at the time head coach, Tony Hoops.
In 2018 though, Artaz took over as head men’s basketball coach at Bethel and since then has accumulated many accolades.
In his first season as the Threshers head coach, 2018-19, he held a record of 17-13, giving Bethel their first winning season since 2004. His first win of his head coaching career came on Oct. 30th, 2018 against Doane and the wins didn’t stop there for Artaz.
The next season, 2019-20, his team had a 20-12 record, which was the winningest season for Thresher men’s basketball in the previous 20 years.
It all changed for the Bethel men’s basketball program in the 2020-21 when they were KCAC regular season champions, KCAC Tournament champions, and qualified for the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament. In this season Artaz was named the KCAC Coach of the Year and the KBCA four-year College Coach of the Year.
During the 2020-21 season as well, the Threshers led the conference in five different categories: scoring defense per game, scoring margin, blocks, steals, and net efficiency.
In the 2021-2022 season, Artaz yet again led his team to a run to the Sweet 16 of the NAIA National Tournament in Kansas City. Then, in the 2022-23 season, the Threshers made yet a third appearance in the NAIA National Tournament, making three seasons in a row with an appearance.
Throughout Artaz’s coaching career he has coached four All-Americans, two KCAC Players of the Year, 15 All-KCAC selections, six All-KCAC defensive team selections, five All-KCAC Freshman Team selections, and two Freshman of the Year selections.
And now, he is the Bethel men’s basketball program’s all-time winningest coach, with a career record of 132-71 in his seventh season at the helm.
Artaz is known as a winner on the basketball court and off.
“Artaz is the winningest coach for a good reason,” Former player and Bethel ‘24 graduate, Jared Richardson said. “He knows how to find winners because he is one and knows what it takes. Whether that’s on the basketball court or throughout life, he wants those around him to win.”
Clifford Byrd II, one of Artaz’s former players, All-American selection, and Bethel ‘23 graduate, added onto this sentiment by saying:
“It’s no surprise to me that Artaz achieved this with all of his hard work and late night of watching film to figure out how to become a winning team,” Byrd II said. “He always instills into his players to be leaders and great teammates as those two things lead to winning.”
Eric Reid, one of Artaz’s assistant coaches shared how Artaz influences him:
“Coaching alongside Artaz has taught me so much,” Reid said. “The way that he deals with people and relationships is something that I haven’t seen from anyone else. He truly cares about his players, staff, and people on campus. It is more than just winning for him. I’m blessed to be a small part of his journey at Bethel and know that he’s going to continue having a lot of success just by the way he handles his everyday business.”
To his players, Artaz is a role model and someone that they can always count on both on and off of the court.
“Artaz is more than a coach to me,” senior Nick Bonner from Derby said. “He’s a role model and someone I can always count on to be a positive person and give me a positive outlook on life. I’m not really surprised that he has the most all time wins because he gets the best out of everyone and players want to play their best for him.”
Carter Reid, another current player for Artaz, echoed this:
“Artaz has been a tremendous role model and coach for me during my time at Bethel,” Reid from Wichita said. “He’s always pushed me to become better one the court but also as a person and in my faith. I’m gonna miss the man after I graduate this spring.”
Artaz has been in the game of basketball since even before his time at Bethel, giving him knowledge and expertise in this field.
“Coach Artaz knows basketball more than basketball knows itself,” senior Harper Jonas from Andover said. “It’s been an honor to be a player of his. In my opinion, his record could be untouchable by anybody else. With his dedication to the game, he deserves this honor more than anybody.”
Artaz is not only a coach on campus, but teaches a few classes here as well. You can find him in the classroom for Sport Psychology, Principles of Coaching, and even a Basketball class.
This season so far, the Threshers sits at a 15-14 overall record with many games yet to be played. Their next game comes on Saturday, Jan. 18th at 5 p.m. in Thresher Gym when they take on Ottawa as Artaz continues his historic career.