Western Illinois University Athletics

FIFTH-YEAR (2021): Played in all 11 games... went off in the home opener versus Eastern Washington (Sept. 18), piling in a career-high 102 receiving yards on three catches... caught a 53-yard pass in that same performance... had two other showings of over 50 yards... finished the year with three touchdown receptions.

SENIOR (2020-21 / WESTERN): MVFC Academic Honor Roll ... appeared in all six games … caught seven passes for 91 yards, and two touchdowns … recorded a season-high 51 receiving yards on four receptions and two touchdowns versus Northern Iowa 

SOPHOMORE (2019 / SHAW): Appeared in 10 games ... led the team in receiving with 60 receptions and 716 total yards ... posted six reception TDs ... broke the program record in single-game receptions (14) ... program leader in single-season receptions (60) ... program leader in single-game touchdowns (3) vs. Chowan (Nov. 8) ... named to the 2018 CIAA Honorable Mention Team ... second on the team in scoring with 36 points ... second on the team in all-purpose yardage (83.4) ... recorded career-high 179 reception yards against Saint Augustine (Nov. 3) ... had three games with over 100 reception yards ... tallied two games with over 10 receptions

FRESHMAN (2018 / SHAW): Appeared in nine games ... 346 total yards on 29 receptions ... averaged 38.4 yards per game ... posted 11.9 yards per catch ... scored four touchdowns ... racked up 80 yards on four receptions and one touchdown (Oct. 28 vs. Winston-Salem State) 

HIGH SCHOOL: Attended Sandalwood High School in Jacksonville, Fla. ... two-year varsity letterman in football as a wide receiver 

PERSONAL: Born August 12 … son of Charles Bender and Leleka Lewis … plans to study recreation management… most memorable sports moment was “Breaking two records at my last school (Shaw University) in one game with 14 catches and 3 touchdowns”