Southern Illinoise University Athletics
Kenzi Bennett elevated to full-time assistant coach
06/22/2022 | 3:13:00 | Softball
CARBONDALE, Ill. — The Southern Illinois University softball team has announced that Kenzi Bennett has been elevated to full-time assistant coach, head coach Jen Sewell announced Wednesday.
"Kenzi is one of the best pitching coaches under-30 in the country right now," head coach Jen Sewell said. "This new wave of pitchers want more of a physiologist. It's become a better science. Pitchers are throwing harder, spinning more and tunneling pitches better than ever. Her background is in strength and conditioning which is now a must for any high-level pitching coach."
Bennett has been at SIU in some capacity since 2015 and will serve as Southern's pitching coach. The Mount Vernon, Ill. native arrived at SIU in 2015 as a graduate assistant with Southern's strength and conditioning staff. After receiving her master's degree in 2017, she joined head coach Kerri Blaylock's staff as a volunteer assistant and helped with coaching the team's pitchers while also working with SIU's coaching staff to complete day-to-day practice responsibilities.
"Getting back to full-time feels like I'm back home," Bennett said. "Although I never left I'm back right where I want to be. I was lucky enough to have four years under one of the best coaches in college softball, Kerri Blaylock. I am so thankful for her knowledge and mentorship. But I'm very excited to work under Jen. She brings a new presence, views, and thoughts but with the same culture Kerri built throughout the years. I am very thankful for Kerri and Jen for this continued opportunity to coach at SIU."
Bennett has served as both a full-time and volunteer assistant in each of the last six seasons. During that stretch Southern has made three NCAA Tournament appearances and won the 2021 Missouri Valley Conference Tournament championship. The Salukis hold a .632 winning percentage (177-102-1) during Bennett's six seasons on staff and have won 30-plus games in four of the five full seasons that she has been a part of. SIU's pitching staff, meanwhile, has finished in the top-three in the league in team ERA in each of the last four seasons.
"Kenzi sought out Kerri's mentorship from the time she came to SIU," Sewell said. "The two of them together make an incredible database of pitching knowledge. Imagine coming here as a recruit and having access to those two pitching coaches - that's a lot of know how."
Bennett played her high school ball at Mount Vernon where she left as the program's all-time leader in most statistical categories including hits (157), doubles (43), home runs (22), RBIs (153), innings pitched (470), shutouts (28), strikeouts (689), wins (57) and ERA (.88). She ultimately chose to play collegiate softball at UT-Martin, where she started all four years for the Skyhawks and led the Ohio Valley Conference in batting average, home runs and RBIs in 2013 while also going 20-6 as a pitcher. She was a two-time All-OVC selection and helped UT-Martin win both the OVC regular season and tournament titles in 2012.
Bennett earned a bachelor's degree in human and health performance from UT-Martin in 2015 and received her master's of science in education from SIU in 2017.
