Since Coach Rob Beckmann arrived at ICC for the 2021 season, the Independence Pirates have accrued 76 total wins. During that time, the Pirates won back-to-back championships, including the 2021 NJCAA Region VI Championship – the program’s first in 25 years – and the 2022 Jayhawk Conference Championship with 20 total wins over league opponents.

During the 2023-24 campaign, under Beckmann's guidance, the Pirates secured multiple nationally-ranked wins, including the upset of the #8 team in the country - the Butler Grizzlies - along with a 70-43 blowout upset of rival Coffeyville.

“Coach Beckmann has been pivotal in the success of the women’s basketball program,” ICC Athletic Director Melissa Anderson said. “His competitive spirit, passion for the game, and true belief in junior college athletics will help him continue to grow our program.”

“Coach Beckmann is a man of integrity who puts student-athletes first,” ICC President Dr. Vincent Bowhay added.

Upon initially arriving in Independence, Beckmann immediately recruited and signed Valentina Ojeda. In the 2022-23 season, Ojeda led the Jayhawk Conference in offensive field goal percentage and was second in scoring. She broke the Pirates’ 30-year single-game scoring record with 42 points and earned over a dozen NCAA Division-1 scholarship offers. Ojeda was also awarded NJCAA All-American and KJCCC First-Team All-Conference honors.

The previous season, Beckmann coached point guard Maisa Marcal. During that year, Marcal surpassed 1,000 total career points and won 2022 Jayhawk Conference Player of the Year. Marcal was also a NJCAA All-American and KJCCC First-Team All-Conference selection. She was one of the most recruited JUCO players nationally in 2022 with two dozen NCAA Division-1 offers.

“I’ve always believed that JUCO is the ultimate place to chase your dreams,” Coach Beckmann said. “If you’re overlooked or undervalued or just looking for an opportunity, there’s a place for you in JUCO to bet on yourself and prove your worth. You can look at our track record - there is no better spot in the country to chase your dreams than to be an Independence Pirate.”

In his second season at ICC (2021-22), Beckmann coached the Pirates to a 24-7 overall record and a Jayhawk Conference Championship. The season included 20 total wins over Region/Conference opponents. Combined, the 2022 graduating class for Indy Women's Basketball garnered upward of 30 NCAA D1 offers, along with multiple NCAA D2 and NAIA offers.

In his first season at Independence (2021), Beckmann made an immediate impact with the Pirates, posting a 20-7 overall record and winning the program's first NJCAA Region VI (Jayhawk) Championship since 1996, ending a 25-year drought. Beckmann also served as Sports Information Director for the entire Indy Pirates Athletics program.

Before his tenure at Indy, Beckmann was the Associate Head Coach for the Men's Basketball team at the State College of Florida (SCF) in Bradenton, Florida, from August 2018 to October 2020. While at SCF, Beckmann was the architect of one of the fastest and most prolific offenses nationally in Men's NJCAA Division 1, as the Manatees averaged 29.7 transition points per game during their 2019-20 campaign and led the entire state of Florida in scoring for the first half of the season. From 2018 to 2020, SCF Basketball had its most successful two-year run of the current century, as it won the Suncoast Conference Tournament Championship twice and made the Florida State Tournament in consecutive seasons.

On that team, Beckmann coached future Missouri Tigers star D’Moi Hodge who was among the nation’s top scorers in junior college. During the 2022-23 season at Missouri, Hodge broke the school record for steals in a single season with 91. The previous record of 76 had lasted for 36 years. He was also the Tigers' second-leading scorer. Hodge signed a contract with the Los Angeles Lakers and currently plays in the NBA G-League.

Beckmann also helped produce many other NCAA Division-1 and -2 players. Among them was Isiah Dasher who went on to St. Peter’s, playing in the Peacocks' historic Elite 8 run in the 2022 NCAA Tournament. Other D1 players included Marshall Kearing (South Alabama) and Remy Robert (Wichita State/McNeese State), along with NCAA Division 2 players Chris Scarborough (Holy Names University), Max Bell-Ramos (Lane College), and Jordan Clark (Georgia Southwestern).

Prior to his time at SCF, Beckmann had served as both a High School and AAU Head Coach and Founder in the Sarasota and Bradenton (Florida) area for over four years.

In May 2014, Beckmann became the Head Coach for the Women's Basketball team at Sarasota Military Academy High School, inheriting a team that had only won one single game in the program’s entire history. In his second season, the team won 16 games, earning Beckmann Coach of the Year honors in his district. In his third season, Beckmann again won Coach of the Year for the second-straight year as SMA defeated multiple Top 10 teams in the state and won the school’s first ever playoff game for Men or Women in one of Florida’s most difficult districts.

In 2016, Beckmann founded and began serving as Head Coach for the travel team BAE Sports, which competed in AAU, USSSA, and US Amateur tournaments.  For three years, the team was perennially ranked in the Top 10 in the state of Florida and produced multiple NCAA Division-1, -2, and -3 basketball players and NAIA players.

“I’ve been unbelievably lucky to recruit and coach some amazing players, both in college and going way back to when I coached high school and travel ball,” Coach Beckmann said. “Ultimately, that’s my motivation – the players. I’m motivated by pushing them to the next level and seeing their families and communities proud of their success. But most importantly, I love to see student-athletes achieve their dreams and be proud of themselves. I plan to always recruit and produce players that the college and community will be proud of.”

Coach Beckmann may be reached by email rbeckmann@indycc.edu and on Twitter @Coach_Beckmann . Follow the Indy Pirates Women's Basketball team as well @IndyWBB on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.