Named the head coach of the South Dakota women’s golf program in July 2018,
Brett Bennett (USD ’09) has taken the USD women’s golf team to new heights in the Division I and Summit League era. Bennett also holds a Professional Golf Association (PGA) certification, which he obtained in 2017.
Since taking the reins of the women’s golf program, Bennett has coached a pair of First Team All-Summit League performers in Laerke Jensen (2022) and Akari Hayashi (2023). In his fourth season at the helm, Bennett led the Coyotes to a second-place finish at the Summit League Championships during the 2022-23 season.
Under Bennett, the Coyotes have also excelled academically with numerous WGCA All-American scholars, CSC Academic All-District, and All-Academic Summit League honorees.
Prior to returning to Vermillion, Bennett has also served as the assistant golf pro at the Country Club of Sioux Falls for eight years. He’s also spent time as an assistant teaching professional and PGA apprentice. From 2013-18, Bennett served as the head coach of the University of Sioux Falls men’s golf program, while also leading the women’s team from 2013-16; where he also coached the NSIC Women’s Golfer of the Year in Tavia Rutherford (2015).
He was a four-year letter winner for the Coyotes from 2005-09 and earned All-Great West Conference Second Team honors his senior season. As a sophomore, Bennett was named to the North Central Conference All-Tournament team.
Bennett is a 2009 graduate of the University of South Dakota with a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s degree from the University of Sioux Falls in 2020. He and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their son Jack in 2025.
Bennett Accomplishments:
- Danica Badura Summit League All-Tournament Team (2023)
- Akari Hayashi First Team All-Summit (2023)
- Catie Nekola All-Summit honorable mention (2023)
- Laerke Jensen First Team All-Summit (2022)
- Laerke Jensen CoSIDA Academic All-District VI Team (2022)
- Laerke Jensen Academic All-Summit (2022, 2021)
- Danica Badura Second-Team All-Summit (2021)
- Laerke Jensen, Akari Hayashi, Danica Badura WGCA All-American Scholars (2021)
- Megan Munneke Summit League All-Tournament Team (2019)
