The 2023 season will mark head coach Paul Benim’s 31st season at Penn State Behrend and his 28th at the helm of the baseball program. A year ago, the blue and white won the AMCC Regular Season title with a 14-2 record, while a league-high nine players earned All-AMCC honors. Over the past 16 seasons, the Lions have earned an AMCC-best 266 victories. Benim has coached 28 players that have been elected to the Penn State Behrend Lions Athletic Hall of Fame.

Benim has established the Behrend Lions as one of the best programs in the Mid-Atlantic Region, earning regional and national attention. In the thirteen years prior to taking over, the program had won only 24 percent of its contests. During Benim's tenure, the program has earned victories in 64 percent of its games, with nearly every school record being broken. The program has made the conference tournament 23 times, won six regular season and six conference tournament titles, and finished runner-up eight times. Benim, the all-time leader in baseball coaching victories at Behrend, is 691-401-4 during 28 seasons and posts a career head coach mark of 773-438-4.

In 2021, the Behrend Lions won the program's sixth AMCC Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament. Behrend defeated No. 17 NC Wesleyan and Rochester at the NCAA Regionals.  The Lions finished the season with a 27-13 mark. During the 2015 season, the Behrend Lions posteda 28-12 mark and won a second straight ECAC Southern Region title.

The 2014 season was monumental for Benim. The veteran coach earned his 500th career victory en route to the Lions winning their fourth ECAC South Region Title under his direction. Behrend finished with a 30-14 overall record and a 13-3 mark in the AMCC. Five players were named All-AMCC and one earned a spot on the ECAC All-Star Team. In 2013, Benim guided Behrend to its fifth AMCC Championship and fourth overall trip to the NCAA Tournament. The Lions finished with a 30-12 record, including an impressive 15-1 mark in conference play. Coach Benim earned his fifth AMCC Coach of the Year honor, while mentoring six All-AMCC players, two All-Region and one ECAC All-Star.  The 2012 year featured an impressive ECAC Championship victory earned on the road and a 29-15 record.

In 2010, the Lions won their third straight conference championship, a feat no other conference team has accomplished. Behrend not only advanced to the NCAA Championships, but won its first-ever game, an upset over No. 4 Wooster. The Lions finished the year 31-17 and were ranked No. 25 in the nation by D3baseball.com, finishing second in walks and ninth in steals.  Seven players were tabbed to the All-Conference team and one Behrend player was named the AMCC Player of the Year.

The 2009 Behrend Lions were expected to excel and they did just that. The squad won the AMCC regular season and conference tournament titles while advancing on to the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season. Behrend registered a 31-13 mark and had three players earn ABCA-Rawlings All-Region honors, three make the ECAC South All-Star squad and two were selected as the Pitcher and Player of the Year. The program also boasted its fifth AMCC Player of the Year and for the second straight season; Behrend snagged the AMCC Pitcher of the Year honor as well.

The 2008 season was another record-breaking year for the baseball program. The team won 34 games, the second most ever in program history, including a 17-1 mark in AMCC play, while capturing the AMCC crown and advancing to the NCAA Regional for the first time.

The 2002 and 2003 seasons for the baseball program were extra special. The new field was built in 2002 and was baptized with a school record 35-8 record, while the program led the country in triples per game and improved win total. Behrend hosted the ECAC Tournament and won it’s first ECAC baseball championship. Benim was tabbed the AMCC Coach of the Year. The 2003 squad had to replace five everyday starters and 13 players overall. The team went on to rattle off a 33-10 mark, claiming the AMCC and ECAC title on the Behrend diamond.

Prior to becoming head baseball coach, Benim served Penn State Behrend as the head softball coach for three seasons. He guided the team to 82 wins and three straight postseason appearances and a national ranking. In 1993, Benim led the team to an impressive 29-6 record while capturing the ECAC Championship. In the fall of 1998, this team was recognized as one of the ten best ever at the college.

In addition to running the highly successful Behrend baseball clinics series and summer camps, Benim has worked at camps at Bucknell, Clemson, Lehigh, Slippery Rock, Youngstown State, and for Ripken Baseball. He also served on the NCAA Mid-Atlantic Regional Committee and the NCAA Baseball Rules Committee. He currently serves on the ECAC Southern Region Baseball Committee.

He has been inducted into the Wesleyville, Iroquois, Lawrence Park Hall of Fame (2011) and the Penn State State Behrend Athletics Hall of Fame (2013).

Benim earned his bachelor's degree from Penn State Behrend in business and behavioral sciences and his master's degree in counseling from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.