Denise Bennett began as an assistant coach with Academy of Art women's basketball in June 2023.
In 2023-24, Bennett helped the Urban Knights lay an important foundation that featured a series sweep of a Pacific West Conference opponent in Chaminade, big wins over playoff-bound teams like Dominican and
Biola late in the year, and a well-balanced team with seven different players totaling 20 or more assists. The squad featured
PacWest Newcomer of the Year Alba Rovira Ayuso who ranked inside the Pacific West Conference's top three in both points per game (13.9) and 3-pointers made per game (1.8). Other highlights included Christy Ojide breaking the program's career blocks leader versus Point Loma on
Feb. 3 and seven Urban Knights making the
Academic All-PacWest Team as well.
Bringing over 18 years of basketball coaching experience into her role at ART U, Bennett previously began as the head coach of Cal Maritime women’s basketball in November 2020 and went on to lead the Keelhaulers over the course of the three ensuing seasons. In that time, she coached forward/center Alicia Porter to multiple All-Cal Pac First Team selections, CSC Academic All-District and Cal Maritime's President's List honors, and a final year as the Cal Pac's scoring champion with a single-season record-setting 25.0 points per game average (second in NAIA) along with 13.0 rebounds per game (fourth in NAIA).
Prior to Cal Maritime, Bennett was the University of Redlands' inaugural full-time assistant women's basketball coach for two seasons. She was responsible for recruiting, organizing community service projects, ensuring compliance with NCAA guidelines, facilitating study halls, creating practice plans, and developing individual, team, and opponent scouting reports. During her tenure, the Bulldogs won a Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Championship for the first time in 10 years, won conference tournament, advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, and posted a 22-7 overall record while Redlands also earned SCIAC Coaching Staff of the Year.
Before her time with the Bulldogs, Bennett served as San Diego Christian College's assistant women's basketball coach for two years, helping the Hawks to their third-winningest season in program history.
From 2013-16, the girls' basketball team at Torrey Pines High School enjoyed a successful run under Bennett's tutelage by winning a pair of Palomar League titles, finishing the 2014 campaign with an undefeated record, and enjoying deep postseason runs in the CIF State Tournament all three years.
Bennett was unanimously selected to the role of head coach in the 2016 North vs. South Senior All-Star Game, further adding to her experience in the event which dates back to 2004 when she became the head coach of the San Diego Sol AAU travel team.
After capturing two CIF Championships and two league titles as a basketball student-athlete at Santana High School, Bennett boasted First Team All-League honors at Cuyamaca College and was the team's Defensive Player of the Year. She would repeat as an All-League selection after transferring to Grossmont College and went on to receive her bachelor’s degree in Sociology from San Diego State.
