Ben Braun

Benjamin Abraham Braun (born November 25, 1953) is an American former men's college basketball coach and college basketball analyst. He served as the head men's basketball coach at Siena Heights University (1977–1985), Eastern Michigan University (1986–1996), the University of California, Berkeley (1996–2008), and Rice University (2008–2014), compiling a career coaching record of 615–517. He won the most games of any head coach in the history of the Eastern Michigan Eagles men's basketball program and was named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year three times. As the head coach of the California Golden Bears, he won the Pac-10 Coach of the Year and had a 219–154 record (.587). As of 2025, Braun is a college basketball analyst for ESPN , and formerly the Pac-12 Network.

Early and personal life Braun was born in Chicago, Illinois and is Jewish. His father is Academy Award nominee producer Zev Braun. He graduated from New Trier High School in Winnetka, Illinois, where he excelled on both the basketball team and, as a shortstop, on the baseball team.

Braun played one year of basketball at the University of Wisconsin–La Crosse.

In the summer of 1989, he was the head coach of the U.S. men's basketball team at the 1989 Maccabiah Games. The team lost to Team Israel in the final. During his tenure at Cal, Braun directed the Bears to more postseason appearances and more postseason victories than any coach in school history. His 219 wins in 12 years are second to Nibs Price (1925–54, 449–294) in both tenure and wins at Cal, while his Cal winning percentage (.606) is the best at the school since Hall of Famer Pete Newell guided the Bears to a 119–44 mark from 1955 to 1960.

Braun was hired as the head men's coach at Rice, replacing Willis Wilson in 2008. He resigned on March 13, 2014, after six seasons with the Owls, compiling a 63–128 record.

In 2023, the basketball court at the George Gervin GameAbove Center, where Eastern Michigan plays, was named after Braun. In May 2025, he was inducted to the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame.

Head coaching record