Daynia Benton - Women's Basketball
Daynia Benton
- Title:
- Assistant Coach
Daynia Benton returns to the St. John's women's basketball program as an assistant coach, bringing more than two decades of collegiate coaching experience, including 14 seasons as a head coach at the NCAA Division I and Division II levels.
Benton has built an accomplished coaching career highlighted by conference championships, NCAA Tournament appearances and multiple Coach of the Year honors. She previously served as an assistant coach at St. John's from 2002-05. Her experience also extends to the professional ranks, having served as an advanced scout and volunteer coach with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun in 2019 before joining the Atlanta Dream as an assistant coach in 2021.
Benton returns to Queens after spending five seasons as the head coach at the University of Rhode Island from 2014-19, where she was the first minority women's head coach of any sport in school history. During her tenure, she orchestrated the largest single-season turnaround in program history, guiding the Rams to a 17-13 overall record, marking a 10-win improvement from the previous campaign. Benton also led Rhode Island to its first Ocean State Tournament Championship and consecutive opening-round victories in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
While at URI, Benton recruited and developed Charise Wilson, who earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors.
Prior to her time with the Rams, Benton spent eight seasons as the head coach at Northeastern from 2006-14. During her tenure, she guided the Huskies to one of their most successful campaigns as members of the Colonial Athletic Association in 2012-13. Northeastern finished the season with 17 victories and a fifth-place conference finish, its highest in the CAA era, earning Benton 2013 CAA Coach of the Year honors.
Throughout her time in Boston, Benton recruited and coached 10 All-CAA selections while helping develop a competitive program centered on student-athlete success both on and off the court.
Before taking over at Northeastern, Benton spent the 2005-06 season as the head coach at the University of New Haven. In her lone season with the Chargers, she led the program to a 24-7 overall record, capturing both the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships. New Haven earned a berth in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, while Benton was recognized as the conference's Coach of the Year.
Benton previously spent three seasons at St. John's as the first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2002-05. During her initial stint with the Red Storm, she helped guide the program to consecutive BIG EAST Tournament appearances, highlighted by a 20-11 campaign in 2004-05. The 20-win season marked the program's first in 17 years.
Benton began her collegiate coaching career at LIU, where she spent seven seasons as an assistant coach from 1995-2002. During her time in Brooklyn, she helped guide LIU to the 2001 Northeast Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Outside of collegiate coaching, Benton serves as Executive Director and CEO of the Terance Mann Complete Player Foundation (TMCPF.org), overseeing youth development initiatives, fundraising and community partnerships. She also co-founded BentForce Basketball, which provides youth basketball training and mentorship opportunities, and Courtside Moms Media, a platform highlighting the families of professional athletes.
A former collegiate basketball player at Georgetown University, Benton was part of a Hoyas program that captured a BIG EAST Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
Benton graduated from Georgetown University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology before earning a Master of Science in School Psychology from Long Island University in 2001. Her professional honors include the Leading Women Award in 2018 and the Excellence in Sports Award in 2021.
Benton is married to Eddie Benton, a women’s basketball associate head coach at Robert Morris University. Together, they have three sons and a daughter. Her eldest son, Terance Mann, is a guard for the Brooklyn Nets and recently began his eighth NBA season. Martin Mann works closely with the TMCPF, while her youngest son, Tre Benton, is a football athlete at Robert Morris University. Her daughter, Ny’Asia Benton, who also attends Robert Morris, runs track and field.
Benton has built an accomplished coaching career highlighted by conference championships, NCAA Tournament appearances and multiple Coach of the Year honors. She previously served as an assistant coach at St. John's from 2002-05. Her experience also extends to the professional ranks, having served as an advanced scout and volunteer coach with the WNBA's Connecticut Sun in 2019 before joining the Atlanta Dream as an assistant coach in 2021.
Benton returns to Queens after spending five seasons as the head coach at the University of Rhode Island from 2014-19, where she was the first minority women's head coach of any sport in school history. During her tenure, she orchestrated the largest single-season turnaround in program history, guiding the Rams to a 17-13 overall record, marking a 10-win improvement from the previous campaign. Benton also led Rhode Island to its first Ocean State Tournament Championship and consecutive opening-round victories in the Atlantic 10 Tournament.
While at URI, Benton recruited and developed Charise Wilson, who earned Atlantic 10 Rookie of the Year honors.
Prior to her time with the Rams, Benton spent eight seasons as the head coach at Northeastern from 2006-14. During her tenure, she guided the Huskies to one of their most successful campaigns as members of the Colonial Athletic Association in 2012-13. Northeastern finished the season with 17 victories and a fifth-place conference finish, its highest in the CAA era, earning Benton 2013 CAA Coach of the Year honors.
Throughout her time in Boston, Benton recruited and coached 10 All-CAA selections while helping develop a competitive program centered on student-athlete success both on and off the court.
Before taking over at Northeastern, Benton spent the 2005-06 season as the head coach at the University of New Haven. In her lone season with the Chargers, she led the program to a 24-7 overall record, capturing both the New York Collegiate Athletic Conference regular-season and tournament championships. New Haven earned a berth in the 2006 NCAA Tournament, while Benton was recognized as the conference's Coach of the Year.
Benton previously spent three seasons at St. John's as the first assistant coach and recruiting coordinator from 2002-05. During her initial stint with the Red Storm, she helped guide the program to consecutive BIG EAST Tournament appearances, highlighted by a 20-11 campaign in 2004-05. The 20-win season marked the program's first in 17 years.
Benton began her collegiate coaching career at LIU, where she spent seven seasons as an assistant coach from 1995-2002. During her time in Brooklyn, she helped guide LIU to the 2001 Northeast Conference Championship and an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Outside of collegiate coaching, Benton serves as Executive Director and CEO of the Terance Mann Complete Player Foundation (TMCPF.org), overseeing youth development initiatives, fundraising and community partnerships. She also co-founded BentForce Basketball, which provides youth basketball training and mentorship opportunities, and Courtside Moms Media, a platform highlighting the families of professional athletes.
A former collegiate basketball player at Georgetown University, Benton was part of a Hoyas program that captured a BIG EAST Championship and advanced to the NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen.
Benton graduated from Georgetown University in 1995 with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology before earning a Master of Science in School Psychology from Long Island University in 2001. Her professional honors include the Leading Women Award in 2018 and the Excellence in Sports Award in 2021.
Benton is married to Eddie Benton, a women’s basketball associate head coach at Robert Morris University. Together, they have three sons and a daughter. Her eldest son, Terance Mann, is a guard for the Brooklyn Nets and recently began his eighth NBA season. Martin Mann works closely with the TMCPF, while her youngest son, Tre Benton, is a football athlete at Robert Morris University. Her daughter, Ny’Asia Benton, who also attends Robert Morris, runs track and field.
Thursday, October 01
Thursday, March 19
Tuesday, March 10
Sunday, March 08
