Alma Mater: St. John's University ‘07
Seasons as Head Coach: 4 (including 2025-26)
Men's Record at NYU: 54-34
Women's Record at NYU: 44-51
Best NCAA Tournament Finish: 14th (2024)
Ben Bratton was named head coach of the New York University men’s and women’s fencing teams in September 2022. He served as an assistant coach during the 2021-22 season.
In 2024-25, Bratton led both the men’s (20-11) and women’s (21-12) teams to 20-win seasons (the most wins in women’s team history) and to a combined 21
st-place finish at the NCAA Championships. Two of his fencers, Maria Stamos and Anup Banerjee, represented NYU at the NCAA’s.
The men’s campaign included victories over NCAA Division I squads from Penn State University, the University of North Carolina, and Duke University, while the women recorded wins against DI teams North Carolina, the University of Notre Dame, Boston University, and Lafayette College.
Both squads were well-represented in postseason awards from the United States Fencing Coaches Association (USFCA), with Banerjee being selected National Foil Newcomer of the Year. He also received similar “Newcomer of the Year” accolades on the Division III level, as did teammates Ajit Sivakumar (epee) and Ansh Ghayalod (sabre). On the women’s side, Stamos was chosen DIII Foil Athlete of the Year and Katherine Chen received similar accolades in epee.
Off the strip, 11 women and eight members of the men’s team were honored as University Athletic Association (UAA) All-Academic, while both the men’s and women’s squads were tabbed as a USFCA All-Academic Team.
In 2023-24, Bratton led the men’s team to a 20-10 record while the women went 14-20. He was named the USFCA Division III Men’s Coach of the Year and the Violets were tabbed USFCA Division III Men’s Team of the Year. Four men’s fencers qualified for the NCAA Championships as the Violets placed 14
th in the combined men’s/women’s event, the best finish of any Division III team.
Many NYU fencers racked up awards from the USFCA after their strong seasons, as the men totaled 10 All-Region and five All-America honors while Adam Wong was chosen Division III Foil Newcomer of the Year. The women’s team collected five All-Region and three All-America accolades.
Off the strip, Bratton’s fencers also succeeded in the classroom as 23 team members received UAA All-Academic recognition and 30 were selected USFCA All-Academic. Additionally, Michael Kang and William Lehr were named Arthur Ashe Jr. Sports Scholar First Team honorees, while both squads were cited as USFCA All-Academic Teams
In his first season at the helm, Bratton guided the Violets to a 17
th-place finish at the NCAA Championships. The men’s team posted a 14-13 record while the women went 9-19. Both were named USFCA Division III Teams of the Year while Bratton was tabbed Men’s Division III Coach of the Year.
Several of Bratton’s fencers put together outstanding campaigns. On the men’s side, Ian Adler was named USFCA
Division III Epee Athlete of the Year and First Team Division III All-American. Farr Dickson also received both honors in foil, while adding USFCA Division III Foil Newcomer of the Year accolades. Brian Kim (saber) was also a first Team Division III All-American, while Andrew Sledeski (foil) and Darren Yen (saber) earned Second Team honors.
On the women’s side, Polly Adler (foil), Anna Lanzman (epee) and Stamos (foil) each received USFCA First Team Division III All-America honors while Stamos was also named Division III Foil Athlete of the Year. Sophia Dondisch (epee) was a Second Team All-American and Leeanne Chan received Honorable Mention.
In addition to their success on the strip, both squads were cited as USFCA All-Academic Teams while a total of 32 fencers (18 men, 14 women) received individual All-Academic honors from the organization.
Bratton’s first season on staff as an assistant turned out to be a spectacular one as NYU finished 11
th nationally and #1 among Division III programs at the NCAA Championships as two Violets earned All-America honors: Ian Sanders placed third in epee and Jamie Ren took ninth in saber. Teammates Stamos, Kevin Zu and Liam Carpenter were also NCAA Qualifiers.
The men finished 14-9 during the season, while the women tied the program record with 18 victories (18-12) and placed third at the NIWFA (National Intercollegiate Women’s Fencing Association) Championships.
Accolades abounded for Bratton, the teams and fencers in ’21-22. The USFCA selected NYU as the Division III Men’s and Women’s Teams of the Year while Bratton was chosen USFCA Division III Men’s Assistant Coach of the Year. A total of 11 fencers (6 men, 5 women) earned USFCA Division III All-America honors, while Sanders was selected Epee Athlete of the Year.
A 2007 graduate of St. John's University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology, Bratton was a four-year fencing team member and earned NCAA All-America honors all four years. He also served as a captain for the Red Storm.
Bratton went on to compete professionally from 2007-20. During that span, he was a member of the United States National Team eight times. Bratton made history when he became the first African-American fencer to win a World Championship title when the United States Men's Epee Team captured the gold medal at the World Team Championships in 2012. Also a member of the silver-medal team at the 2015 Pan American Games, Bratton took home an individual bronze medal at the 2017 Pan American Championships.
At the 2017 USA Fencing National Championships, Bratton won both individual and team gold.
Bratton has also been a member of the Team USA Council on Racial and Social Justice for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee since 2020. The Council aims to address the rules and systems within the Olympic and Paralympic Committee that create barriers to racial progress. He also served as a representative on the Athlete Advisory Council for USA Fencing.
In 2012, Bratton founded Fencing 101, an after-school program held in Brooklyn and Harlem charter schools and youth centers. He has also worked as a Branding Strategy Manager for Sabre88, LLC in Newark, NJ.
A native of Queens, NY, Bratton resides in West Chester, PA.
Bratton’s Year-by-Year Records:
| Year |
Overall |
UAA |
NCAA Finish |
| 2022-23 |
14-13 |
9-19 |
17th |
| 2023-24 |
20-10 |
14-20 |
14th |
| 2024-25 |
20-11 |
21-12 |
21st |
| TOTALS |
54-34 (.613) |
44-51 (.463) |
|
