Troy University Athletics
Troy Football Names Ben Sowders Director of Strength and Performance
1/16/2026 2:58:00 PM | Football
TROY, Ala. – Troy Football head coach Gerad Parker announced Thursday the addition of veteran strength and conditioning coach Ben Sowders as the Trojans' new director of strength and performance. He joins Troy's staff following two seasons as the director of strength & conditioning at Arkansas.
"Coach Sowders is going to be a big-time addition to our football program," Parker said. "He has coached and trained some of the top athletes in collegiate football during his career, won a National Championship and is one of the most respected strength coaches in the profession. Our players are going to receive world-class training in the weight room, and I can't wait to see their progression under Coach Sowders and how it will translate onto the field."
In 2024, he earned the highest honor a strength and conditioning coach can receive, being named a Master Strength & Conditioning Coach by the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association. The title of Master Strength & Conditioning Coach represents professionalism, knowledge, experience, expertise and longevity in the field. To earn the distinguished status, a strength and conditioning coach must be an active member of the CSCCA, be a strength and conditioning certified coach and a full-time collegiate and/or professional strength and conditioning coach for a minimum of 12 years.
Sowders' work with Landon Jackson helped transform the talented defensive lineman into a third-round pick by the Buffalo Bills in the NFL Draft. Jackson saw significant gains in the weight room and showed off those skills at the NFL Combine, where he ran 4.68 in the 40-yard dash along with a 40.5-inch vertical jump and a broad jump of 10 feet, 9 inches.
Jackson's performance, however, was not the most impressive by a Razorback as wide receiver Isaac TeSlaa recorded one of the best combine workouts in the history of the event. TeSlaa's Athleticism Score of 96 led all wide receivers at the 2025 combine. He ran a 4.43 in the 40-yard dash with a vertical jump of 39.5 inches and a broad jump of 10-feet, 9 inches. TeSlaa's combine performance helped him move up draft boards to become the first Arkansas wide receiver to be picked since 2022, when the Detroit Lions selected him with the 70th overall pick.
The first Arkansas team under Sowders' watch saw gains in the weight room, including offensive lineman Beaux Limmer, who squatted 745 pounds prior to the start of the 2023 season. Limmer was later selected in the NFL Draft by the Los Angeles Rams along with kicker Cam Little, who was picked by Jacksonville. Little's improved strength helped him become the youngest kicker to ever be selected in the NFL Draft.
Sowders came to Arkansas after spending the 2022 season at Louisville as the director of strength & conditioning for the Cardinals.
Prior to his stint at Louisville, Sowders spent four seasons (2018-21) as the assistant director of strength & conditioning at Georgia, where he worked with 20 student-athletes who went on to play in the NFL while also helping the Dawgs to the 2022 National Championship and three trips to the SEC Championship Game.
A native of Bowling Green, Ky., Sowders spent one season (2017) at McNeese State as the director of strength & conditioning, and the Cowboys posted a 9-2 record in his lone season in Lake Charles, La.
Sowders spent two seasons at Georgia Tech (2015-16) as the assistant director of player development after two seasons at Gardner-Webb (2013-14), where he was responsible for the training of the Bulldogs' 21 Division I programs.
His first full time collegiate position was at Southern Miss from 2012-13, where he led the strength and conditioning efforts for the Golden Eagles' men's and women's basketball, volleyball and softball programs while assisting with football. Prior to his time in Hattiesburg, Miss., he fulfilled a six-month internship at Alabama, where he worked with the Crimson Tide's football, volleyball, tennis and rowing teams.
Sowders earned his start in strength and conditioning as a Facility Coordinator and Head Strength & Speed coach at D1 Sports Training in Nashville, Tenn. While at D1 Sports, he worked with numerous NFL players, including Steve Smith, Jerome Bettis, Donovan McNabb and Kyle Vanden Bosch.
He earned his bachelor's degree in exercise science from Western Kentucky in December 2008 after playing for the Hilltoppers as a linebacker. Sowders began his career as a walk-on before earning a scholarship and becoming a two-year starter. He received his master's degree in recreation and sport administration from WKU in August of 2010.
Sowders is a member of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association (CSCCa), a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and certified by USA Weightlifting.
Sowders is married to the former Shelbee Rodgers, and the couple has one daughter, Gibson.
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