University of Idaho Athletics

Denise Rosario joins the Vandal women's basketball staff as an assistant coach for the 2024-25 season.

Rosario has an extensive resume, recruiting two NJCAA All-Americans (Okako Adika ’20 and Celia Sumbane ’23), one NAIA Second-Team All-American (Priscila Santos ’13), and one WNBA draftee (Adika ’23). She reached the NJCAA Sweet 16 in back-to-back seasons in 2017 through 2019 and went a step further to the Elite Eight in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons. At her last two stops, the programs earned the NJCAA Region V title four times.
 
Rosario comes to Idaho after three years at South Plains College in Levelland, Texas. She served as an assistant coach at South Plains at the JUCO level. Rosario aided in the recruitment of elite domestic and international student-athletes from several countries, including Angola, Australia, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Denmark, the Dominican Republic, Mozambique, New Zealand, Nigeria, Poland, Portugal, South Sudan, Sweden, and Turkey. She was integral in the transition for the international students, guiding and advising them through the entire visa application and college admissions processes.
 
At South Plains, the team was crowned WJCAC Conference Champions and were WJCAC Region V Finalists in 2023. The team reached the Elite Eight at the NJCAA National Tournament in the 2021-22 season. The team had an overall record of 62-23 in her three seasons, featuring a 20-4 record in the 2020-21 season.
 
Prior to South Plains, Rosario served as an assistant coach at Odessa College from 2017 through 2020. It was at Odessa, that Rosario recruited Adika, who went on to play at USC and get drafted by the New York Liberty in 2023. Rosario’s duties ranged from skill-specific training and developmental drills for post players and guards to preparing advanced scouting reports through game film. In her three seasons at Odessa, the team garnered an overall record of 70-28.
 
Her first coaching experience was at William Woods University in Fulton, Missouri as a graduate assistant from 2012-2014. At WWU, Rosario wore many hats ranging from coaching duties to travel coordination and fundraising. Rosario juggled being a GA as well as earning her Master of Education in athletics/activities administration.
 
Rosario played in college at both the NJCAA and NAIA levels at Columbia College where she earned a Bachelor of Science in human services with a minor in human services in 2012. During her time at Columbia College, the Lady Cougars made four NAIA National Tournament appearances, including the Elite Eight in 2008-09. At the NAIA level, Rosario was named America Midwest Conference Honorable Mention and Newcomer of the Year. At the NJCAA level, Rosario was named Honorable Mention All-American and First-Team All-Region for two consecutive years.
 
Rosario was born and raised in Ipatinga, Minas Gerais, Brazil. She is the second-youngest of 11 children and was the first person in her family to play sports, graduate college, and graduate grad school.