Christian Bentley, a 6-foot-3 guard from Brampton, Ontario, has signed a National Letter of Intent to continue his athletic and academic career at Youngstown State University, Head Coach Jerrod Calhoun announced. Bentley will have two years of eligibility remaining.
"Christian Bentley is a phenomenal kid and comes from a great junior college and was coached by a good college coach in Jimmy Patsos at Siena," Calhoun said. "He gives us another strong presence in the backcourt and can play multiple positions.
"Christian is really good at pick-and-rolls and makes the right decisions. He's very athletic and also a tough defender, and he fits our style in getting up and down the court."
Bentley, who played the 2017-18 season at Division I Siena, joins the Penguins after a year at Iowa Western Community College. Last season, he appeared in 30 games and averaged 12 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game for the Retrievers. Bentley scored in double figures 16 times, had five 20-point performances and scored a season-high 28 points against Kansas City Kansas Community College.
During the 2017-18 season at Siena, Bentley played in 29 games and made 11 starts. He shot 46.5 percent from the floor and made 50 percent of his 3-point attempts. He scored career-high 11 points against Hofstra on 4-of-5 shooting from the floor on Nov. 25, 2017.
Bentley was rated as the 26th best Canadian according to Hoops Hype Canada's Fab 40 National Rankings in 2015. He helped lead First Love Christian Academy (Pa.) to a 24-3 record and Slam National Post-Grad Championship appearance during his final season.
He joins forward Jamir Thomas (Passaic, N.J.) in the 2019-20 recruiting class.
