Ben Ohai is a former American collegiate wrestler, wrestling coach, and educator who is also widely known as the father of former professional soccer player Kealia Ohai Watt. Long before his family became associated with elite soccer and J.J. Watt, Ohai had established his own athletic career at Brigham Young University (BYU), where he became a two-time NCAA Division I All-American.
His connection to wrestling continued well beyond his competitive years. Ohai later moved into coaching and education while remaining involved in the sport for decades. His athletic background also provides useful context for the sports-oriented family in which his daughters, including Megan and Kealia Ohai, grew up.
Ben Ohai Quick Facts
| Information | Details |
|---|---|
| Name | Ben Ohai |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Former wrestler, wrestling coach, and educator |
| College | Brigham Young University (BYU) |
| Sport | Wrestling |
| College Weight Class | 190 pounds |
| NCAA Honors | Two-time All-American |
| Best NCAA Finish | Runner-up in 1974 |
| WAC Titles | 1973 and 1974 |
| Reported College Record | 116–8 |
| Wife | Cindy Ohai, also identified as Cindy Cook |
| Children | Cami, Megan, Aubrey, and Kealia |
| Known For | BYU wrestling career and being Kealia Ohai Watt’s father |
Who Is Ben Ohai?
Ben Ohai has a public identity that extends beyond being Kealia Ohai Watt’s father. His record places him among BYU’s accomplished collegiate wrestlers of the early 1970s.
Wrestling records show that Ohai earned NCAA Division I All-American honors twice. He finished third nationally at 190 pounds in 1973 before reaching the NCAA final and finishing second in 1974.
That distinction matters when describing his career accurately. Ohai was an NCAA finalist, but he did not win an NCAA national championship. In the 1974 tournament, Oregon State’s Greg Strobel took first place in the 190-pound division, with Ohai finishing as runner-up.
His name later reached a broader audience through his daughters, particularly Kealia, whose soccer career brought renewed attention to the Ohai family.
His Hawaiian Background and Early Years
The Ohai family has documented ties to Hawaii, although specific details about Ben’s birthplace and childhood are difficult to establish from sufficiently authoritative public records.
Some online biographies give precise Hawaiian birthplaces, including Kauai. Those claims are not supported strongly enough by primary documentation to present them as settled facts. His exact date of birth has likewise not been reliably established in authoritative public sources.
His early wrestling path is much better documented.
Before attending BYU, Ohai competed at Cerritos College in California. Historical California community college wrestling records identify him as a champion in the 190-pound division.
That success preceded his move to Brigham Young University, where his wrestling career developed on the national stage.
Ben Ohai Became One of BYU’s Top Collegiate Wrestlers
Ohai’s athletic ability attracted attention in more than one sport. The Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame reports that BYU recruited him for both football and wrestling.
Wrestling ultimately became the sport in which he achieved his most significant collegiate success.
In 1973, Ohai won the Western Athletic Conference championship at 190 pounds. He then placed third at the NCAA Division I Championships, earning his first All-American honor.
The following season proved even more successful.
Ohai captured another WAC title in 1974 and advanced to the NCAA championship match. His runner-up finish gave him a second consecutive All-American distinction.
He also competed in the NCAA East-West All-Star event in 1974.
The Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame credits Ohai with an impressive 116–8 collegiate record and reports that he never lost to a Western Athletic Conference opponent.
Those accomplishments provide a much clearer picture of his athletic ability than the simple description of “former wrestler” frequently used in biographies focused primarily on his famous family connections.
His Career Continued as a Wrestling Coach
Ben Ohai remained involved in wrestling after his competitive career ended.
He returned to BYU as an assistant wrestling coach, transitioning from competing at the collegiate level to helping develop other athletes.
His coaching career later extended into high school wrestling in Utah. Ohai served as a head coach at Spanish Fork High School and Cottonwood High School.
His involvement with wrestling continued for many years. In 2005, for example, he was listed among the instructors for a youth wrestling camp held at Cottonwood High School.
This long-term involvement is an important part of his professional story. Wrestling was not simply a few years of college competition for Ohai; it remained connected to his work and community involvement well after his NCAA career.
Ben Ohai Also Worked as a Teacher
Alongside coaching, Ohai built a career in education.
Granite School District records identify him as a social studies teacher at Cottonwood High School. A 2012 Deseret News profile also described him as a history teacher at the school.
His combined roles as an educator and wrestling coach help clarify what he did professionally after leaving BYU. Some online profiles describe his occupation vaguely or focus almost entirely on his family, but contemporary records establish a substantial career in education.
His current professional status is less clear. Because reliable recent sources do not establish whether he is still teaching, his former position should not automatically be presented as his current occupation.
His Wrestling Achievements Earned Hall of Fame Recognition
Ben Ohai’s accomplishments continued to receive recognition long after his college wrestling career ended.
The Utah Wrestling Hall of Fame reports that he was inducted into the BYU Hall of Fame in 1983. The honor came less than a decade after his two All-American seasons.
Another major recognition followed decades later.
Ohai was named among the 2020 honorees of the California Wrestling Hall of Fame, further recognizing his contribution to the sport and his earlier wrestling achievements in California.
These honors are important when assessing his public identity. Modern interest in Ohai is often connected to Kealia, but he had already earned recognition within the wrestling community independently of his daughter’s later success.
Who Is Ben Ohai’s Wife?
Ben Ohai is publicly associated with Cindy Ohai.
Official college athletics records provide strong support for their family relationship. Kealia’s University of North Carolina profile identifies her as the daughter of Cindy and Ben Ohai. USC Athletics, meanwhile, lists Megan Ohai’s parents as Cindy Cook and Ben Ohai.
Cindy Cook therefore appears to be the name used in USC’s family information, while Cindy Ohai is the name commonly associated with her publicly.
Reliable information about the couple’s marriage itself is limited. Their exact wedding date and location have not been clearly established through the institutional sources available, so those details should not be stated as confirmed facts.
Ben and Cindy Ohai Have Four Daughters
Ben and Cindy Ohai have four daughters whose names are documented through USC Athletics: Cami, Megan, Aubrey, and Kealia.
Athletics became particularly prominent within the family. Megan and Kealia both reached a high level in American college soccer.
Megan Ohai played for the USC Trojans and was associated with the program during one of the most successful periods in its history.
Kealia took a different path, joining the University of North Carolina before moving into professional soccer.
The accomplishments of his daughters have contributed to renewed interest in Ben’s own athletic background, particularly his years as an NCAA wrestler.
Kealia Ohai Watt Brought New Attention to Her Father
Kealia Ohai Watt is Ben’s most widely recognized daughter.
After playing college soccer at North Carolina, Kealia went on to compete professionally and represented the United States internationally. Her success brought increased media attention to her family and, in turn, renewed interest in her father’s sporting background.
Ben was publicly involved in supporting his daughter’s soccer career. A 2012 Deseret News report documented the extensive travel he undertook to follow Kealia’s competitions, including a trip to Japan when she competed at the FIFA U-20 Women’s World Cup.
His public comments about Kealia also provide a more direct picture of their relationship. In 2014, Ben spoke to the Houston Chronicle about how she had adapted to a visual impairment without allowing it to define her athletic career.
He was quoted again in 2016 when Kealia received an opportunity with the U.S. national team in Utah.
These contemporary accounts offer more meaningful insight into his role as a parent than unsupported descriptions of his personality sometimes found in secondary online biographies.
How Is Ben Ohai Related to J.J. Watt?
Ben Ohai is the father-in-law of former NFL star J.J. Watt.
The connection comes through Kealia. She married Watt in the Bahamas on February 15, 2020, after the couple had been together for several years.
That relationship accounts for some of the current search interest surrounding Ben. People researching J.J. Watt’s family or Kealia’s parents may encounter his name through the marriage.
Still, the connection should not overshadow Ben’s independent career. His wrestling achievements, coaching work, and career in education were established decades before his daughter married the former NFL player.
How Old Is Ben Ohai?
Ben Ohai’s exact age has not been reliably confirmed through authoritative public sources.
His NCAA career clearly places his collegiate wrestling years in the early 1970s, but that information alone is not sufficient to establish an exact birth date or current age.
Some online biographies provide a birth year or age without citing a strong primary source. Repeating those figures as confirmed information would create unnecessary uncertainty.
The most accurate conclusion is that Ben Ohai’s exact date of birth and age are not publicly confirmed by reliable sources.
What Is Ben Ohai’s Net Worth?
There is no credible, well-documented public estimate of Ben Ohai’s personal net worth.
His verifiable professional activities include collegiate wrestling, coaching, and teaching. None of these provides enough financial information to calculate his assets or overall wealth.
Celebrity-focused websites sometimes assign net worth figures to public figures and their relatives without providing financial records, business holdings, documented transactions, or other evidence supporting those numbers.
In Ben Ohai’s case, publishing a specific net worth estimate would imply a degree of certainty that the available evidence does not support.
His Career Stands Apart From His Family’s Fame
Much of the modern interest in Ben Ohai comes through Kealia Ohai Watt, but describing him only as the father of a famous athlete leaves out the best-documented part of his own story.
His two NCAA All-American honors, two Western Athletic Conference championships, and runner-up finish at the 1974 NCAA Championships establish a notable collegiate wrestling career. His reported 116–8 record provides additional context for the level at which he competed.
His later transition into coaching and education also gave that career continuity beyond competition. Decades after his time at BYU, his inclusion in the California Wrestling Hall of Fame’s 2020 class provided another acknowledgment of his place in the sport.
Conclusion
Ben Ohai had established his place in competitive sports long before his family attracted wider public attention. A two-time NCAA All-American at BYU and the national runner-up in 1974, he later remained connected to wrestling through coaching while also building a career in education. He is now additionally recognized as the father of Megan and Kealia Ohai and the father-in-law of J.J. Watt.
While details such as his exact age and net worth remain unverified, his wrestling achievements, coaching history, and educational career provide a well-documented account of his public life.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Ben Ohai?
Ben Ohai is a former Brigham Young University wrestler who later worked as a wrestling coach and educator. He is also widely known as the father of former professional soccer player Kealia Ohai Watt.
Was Ben Ohai a professional wrestler?
Available records primarily document his career as a collegiate wrestler. He was a two-time NCAA Division I All-American at BYU, but there is no reliable basis for describing him as a professional wrestler.
Did Ben Ohai win an NCAA wrestling championship?
No. Ohai finished third nationally at 190 pounds in 1973 and second in 1974. He was therefore an NCAA finalist and two-time All-American, but not an NCAA national champion.
Who is Ben Ohai’s wife?
Ben Ohai’s wife is publicly identified as Cindy Ohai. USC Athletics also lists her as Cindy Cook in the family information for their daughter Megan.
How many children does Ben Ohai have?
Ben and Cindy Ohai have four daughters: Cami, Megan, Aubrey, and Kealia. Megan and Kealia both pursued notable soccer careers.
Is Ben Ohai J.J. Watt’s father?
No. Ben Ohai is Kealia Ohai Watt’s father. Because Kealia married J.J. Watt in 2020, Ben is J.J. Watt’s father-in-law.
