‘Goshen Genius’ Ben Ganger ’16 wins big on Jeopardy!

May 2, 2025

Ganger on his first day of Jeopardy! (courtesy Jeopardy Productions, Inc.)

Ben Ganger, who graduated from Goshen College with a music major in 2016, has been shaking up the city over the last week with his performance on the classic game show Jeopardy!

On his first episode on Tuesday, April 29, Ganger knocked out the previous champion, buzzing in an impressive 36 times while answering 94% of those accurately. Ganger ran away with $24,999 — and he didn’t stop there.

Ganger handily won his matchups on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday as well. In his first week with four days of competition, he had won $96,415 — earning him the title of “the Goshen genius” from WSBT 22 and many others in Goshen.

On Monday, May 5, Ganger won again, this time with $9,500, and with five wins, Ganger clinched a spot in Jeopardy!’s coveted Tournament of Champions. The next day though was Ganger’s last, as he finished behind Sarah Gillis from New Jersey.

His total winnings from his five victories? $105,915.

Ganger, who works for the local manufacturer Viewrail as a data analyst, is an opera singer and member of the Camerata Singers, a local professional choral ensemble directed by Scott Hochstetler, professor of music at GC.

An April 29 Jeopardy! watch party at Goshen Brewing Company was well-attended, including by Ganger himself since the episode was filmed in March.

During Ganger’s time as a student at Goshen, he also sung under Hochstetler, who described Ganger as one of his “most successful students” musically. As a sophomore at GC, Ganger won first place in the annual National Association of Teachers of Singing Indiana state competition, and went on to earn a master’s degree in music for opera performance from Bowling Green University.

Ganger (center) poses with Doug Liechty Caskey (left) and Scott Hochstetler (right), two of his former professors, at the Goshen Brewing Company watch party on April 29.

“To be honest, I was initially surprised,” Hochstetler said of Ganger’s Jeopardy! appearance. “I knew he was into trivia, but I had no idea it was to this extent. I think it shows a depth of interest and intellect, and a well-roundedness, and I think his love of knowledge was nurtured at Goshen in ways that it would not have been had he been at a different school.”

Ganger told the South Bend Tribune that his time performing opera was a massive help in his preparation for competing.

“There’s an element of staying calm under bright lights and tons of pressure that you get a taste of when you’re on stage for operas and musicals,” Ganger said. “That made being on stage at Jeopardy! at least a little more familiar of a feeling.”

Though Ganger’s run is over, he’ll be back early next year in the Tournament of Champions — and as he said on a Jeopardy! Reddit comment, he’ll “be in a study corner between now and then making flashcards.”