Denise Rosario was tabbed an assistant coach with the UTEP women’s basketball team in June of 2026.
She spent the 2024-25 season on the coaching staff at the University of Idaho, helping guide the Vandals to an 18-12 overall record.
Prior to making the leap to Division I, Rosario achieved plenty at the junior-college and NAIA level. She recruited a pair of NJCAA All-Americans (Okaro Adika ’20 and Celia Sumbane ’23), one NAIA Second-Team All-American (Priscila Santos ’13), and one WNBA draftee (Adika ’23). Her teams advanced to the NJCAA Sweet 16 in consecutive campaigns (2017-19) while later marching into the Elite Eight in back-to-back years (2020-22). Rosario’s squads claimed the NJCAA Region V title four times combined in her previous two stops.
She spent three years as an assistant coach at South Plains College (Levelland, Texas), recruiting and developing top domestic and international student-athletes from Angola, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, South Sudan, Sweden and Türkiye. Rosario also assisted international student-athletes through the visa application and college admissions processes.
South Plains registered a combined mark of 62-23 during her three seasons, including a stellar mark of 20-4 in 2020-21. It claimed the WJCAC Conference Championship and was a WJCAC Region V Finalist in 2023. The team also went to the Elite Eight at the national tournament in 2022.
Rosario was an assistant coach at Odessa College from 2017-20, helping the Wranglers compile a 70-28 record. Among her recruits was Adika, who went on to play at USC before being selected by the New York Liberty in the 2023 WNBA Draft. Rosario also designed skill-specific training and player development plans for both post players and guards.
Her coaching career began in earnest as a graduate assistant from 2012-14 at William Woods University (Fulton, Mo). She helped in all facets of the program while also earning her master’s degree in athletics and activities administration
Rosario played in college at both the NJCAA (Northeastern Oklahoma Junior College) and NAIA (Columbia College) level. She was a two-year standout at Columbia College, helping it qualify for a pair of NAIA national tournaments. That included advancing to the Elite Eight in 2008-09. While with Northeast Oklahoma Junior College, she was an Honorable-Mention All-American and All-Region first-team recipient in both years.
She earned her bachelor's degree in human services with a minor in psychology from Columbia College before completing her master's degree in athletics and activities administration at William Woods University.
Rosario was born and raised in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. She is the second-youngest of 11 children and was the first member of her family to play organized sports, graduate from college and earn a graduate degree.
