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BURLINGTON, Vt. – Vermont women's basketball head coach
Lori Gear McBride announced today that she has added
Brett Benzio and
Jonathan Silver as assistant coaches for the 2015-16 season. Benzio and Silver join current assistant coach
Courtnay Pilypaitis '10 on the coaching staff.
Benzio most recently served as an assistant coach and Director of Basketball Operations at Harvard, working under esteemed head coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. She coached the post players during her time as an assistant at Harvard, including Temi Fagbenle, a three-time All-Ivy League selection who was widely considered one of the country's top post players.
Benzio was a four-year starter at Tulane University in Conference USA and became just the second player in Green Wave history to reach the 1,000-point and 1,000-rebound milestone. Named to the Conference USA All-Freshman Team in 2008-09, Benzio ranked second nationally in rebounding among all freshmen. She was an All-Conference USA pick as a senior in 2011-12 and graduated as the career leader in defensive rebounds, while placing second all-time in blocks and total rebounds. She was also a Conference USA Spirit of Service honoree for her performance on the court, in the classroom and in the community. Benzio was an all-academic performer during her career and made one NCAA and two WNIT appearances while at Tulane.
"Brett was a tremendous post player in college and as a pro and brings the positional skill set and knowledge that we need in our program," said Gear McBride. "Her track record as a player speaks for itself. She is a mature, bright young coach and has a great foundation having worked for one of the country's best and most experienced head coaches at Harvard."
After her time at Tulane, Benzio played professionally for two season for DJK Bamberg in Germany. As the team's starting center, she averaged 7.0 points per game and led the team with 9.2 rebounds per contest.
Silver joins the Catamounts after four seasons on staff at LSU, working for head coach Nikki Caldwell. He was responsible for planning practices, organizing team travel, fundraising, equipment, the student-manager program and community service initiatives. Silver also served as the program's liaison to various other areas within the athletic department and throughout the community.
Silver helped organize the Lady Tigers' 2013 foreign tour, assisted in rebranding the Lady Tiger booster club and oversaw operation and fundraising efforts for Lady Tiger Elite, raising nearly $50,000 from the group's bowling events alone.
In the summer of 2012, Silver was activated as a full-time assistant coach while simultaneously serving in the capacities of director of operations, interim director of video operations and interim camp director. In July 2014, Silver assisted in the organization of the first LSU Head Coaches' Summit and acted as recording secretary for the group. He also served as the head basketball coach at Camp Cedar in Casco, Maine.
Prior to his arrival in Baton Rouge, Silver spent two seasons working under Caldwell at UCLA. He is a 2009 graduate of UCLA, where he served as a practice player. He is working toward a M.A. in Sports Management from LSU.
"Jon has paid his dues, worked very hard and learned from the very best in Coach Caldwell," said Gear McBride. "This is the next natural step in his progression and we are excited to have him at Vermont. He brings a fresh and unique perspective to our program and received an incredible endorsement from Coach Caldwell, who could not say enough good things about him."
