Head Coach Joel Osborn
Coach Osborn has returned the Ravens to national prominence, compiling an exceptional overall record of 50-14 over his first five seasons. Under his leadership, Benedictine captured four consecutive Heart of America Athletic Conference South Championships (2022, 2023, 2024), culminating in a 2025 season where the Ravens finished ranked third in the NAIA. His peers have routinely recognized his elite leadership, naming him a multi-time Heart South Coach of the Year. Following an extraordinary 2025 campaign, Coach Osborn reached the pinnacle of coaching honors, being named the AFCA-NAIA Region 3 Coach of the Year and the prestigious AFCA-NAIA National Coach of the Year.
Beyond the gridiron, Coach Osborn is a highly respected voice in collegiate athletics, serving in multiple prominent leadership positions. He currently serves as the 2nd Vice President on the NAIA Football Executive Committee and as the Football Chair for the Heart of America Conference.
Staff Excellence
Championing a program built on integrity, his coaching staff has also gained national acclaim, featuring 2022 NAIA Assistant Coach of the Year (Coach George Papageorgiou), 2022 Heart South Assistant Coach of the Year (Coach Kaleb Koch), and 2025 Heart South Defensive Assistant Coach of the Year (Coach Trevor Strong).
Player Development & Individual Accolades
Coach Osborn’s program is well-renowned for talent development, producing dozens of All-Conference and All-American selections alongside five players who have signed professional contracts—notably Chim Okorafor, who played for the UFL’s Michigan Panthers in 2024 and 2025, and was a member of UFL’s Louisville Kings during 2026 season and won the United Bowl Championship. Okorafor has also had NFL stints with Philadelphia Eagles (2023), Minnesota Vikings (2023), and Cleveland Browns (2024).
- All-Americans & All-Conference: Under Coach Osborn’s leadership, the Ravens have secured 18 NAIA All-American selections, including 2024 unanimous first-team All-American wide receiver Jacob Gathright and a dominant class of five additional All-Americans in 2025. Benedictine has flooded the All-Conference lists with over 100 total selections, highlighted by a massive 21-selection class (11 first-team) in 2025.
- National & Conference Award Winners: Coach Osborn has mentored premier individual talent at the national level, including Rashad Beckham, the 2025 NAIA Rimington Award Winner as the best center in the country, and linebacker Jalen James, a 2021 Cliff Harris Award Finalist. Major conference award winners under his guidance include:
- Jackson Dooley: 2025 Conference Most Valuable Player, 2024 Conference Player of the Year, and the Benedictine and Heart Conference all-time career passing leader with 9,817 yards.
- Jacob Gathright: 2024 Conference MVP who shattered school records for single-season and all-time receiving yards.
- Jalen James: 2021 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
- Garrett Kettle: 2022 Conference MVP and Player of the Year.
- Xavier Ugorji: 2025 Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
- Isaiah Hasten: 2025 Conference Defensive Player of the Year.
Team Statistical Dominance
High-Powered Offense
As both the Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, Osborn has engineered one of the most explosive, balanced offenses in the nation. The 2025 season saw the Ravens reach new heights, finishing second in the NAIA in total points, third in total offense, fourth in rushing yards, and eighth in both points per game and passing yards, while quarterback Jackson Dooley ranked fourth nationally in passing touchdowns. This followed a record-shattering 2024 season where the team finished third in total yards and sixth in scoring, continuing a tradition of offensive dominance that began when the program led the Heart in scoring during Osborn's 2021 debut.
Play-Making Defense
The Raven defense has evolved into a fierce, opportunistic unit under Osborn's program blueprint. In 2025, the defensive unit suffocated opponents to finish tenth in the NAIA in points allowed per game, seventh in passing yards allowed per game, and tied for second nationally in interceptions. This elite performance builds on the 2024 squad, which finished second in the NAIA in sacks, takeaways, and interceptions, as well as the 2022 unit where Joel Mewis led all of college football (NCAA and NAIA) with 239 interception return yards.
Special Teams Supremacy
Special teams play has been a decisive weapon for Benedictine. The unit achieved historic versatility by tying for first across all NCAA and NAIA divisions with 13 total blocked kicks in a single season. The Ravens have consistently fielded elite special teams, previously tying for the NAIA lead in blocked kicks in 2023, ranking fourth in punt average, and celebrating kicker Harry Balke becoming the highest-scoring player in program history in 2024.
Academic Excellence
The standard of excellence under Coach Osborn extends deep into the classroom. The program has produced over 63 NAIA Scholar-Athletes during his tenure. This matches a program high with 18 individual recipients in both 2024 and 2025. Overall, the team has maintained a 2.85 Team GPA.
Championing Community & Character
Under Coach Osborn, the Raven Football program has established a deeply rooted culture of service that impacts the broader Atchison community year-round. The cornerstone of these efforts is the annual Spring Cleanup Day in March, an all-hands-on-deck initiative where the entire roster, coaching staff, and student coaches deploy to a dozen sites across the city for a morning of service before returning to mulch the Benedictine campus.
The Ravens are also a constant fixture in local youth development and schools, participating in High Five Fridays, Field Trip Fridays, and volunteer coaching, tutoring, and recess refereeing at Atchison Elementary. Benedictine Football players support local youth sports by coaching and refereeing local recreation baseball, football, soccer, and basketball camps.
This unwavering commitment to character is a primary reason Benedictine earned back-to-back HAAC Musco Team Sportsmanship Awards in 2022 and 2023, while individual leaders like Reed Levi have been named to the prestigious AFCA Allstate Good Works Team.
Personal Notes
Coach Osborn and his wife, Audrey, have four children – Jack, Colin, Isaac, and Emma.
