Women's Basketball

The Denly Coaching File

Dave Denly, who was named Bellevue University's first-ever head coach for women's basketball on June 4, 2015, wrapped up his seventh season at the helm of the Bruin program in 2022-23. He came to BU after becoming the winningest coach in school history at Southwestern College in Winfield, Kan.

For the seventh-consecutive season, Denly led the 2022-23 Bruins to a top-four finish in the NSAA, guiding BU to a third-place showing (10-4) in the conference regular season and to a semifinal appearance in the NSAA Tournament while leading the Bruins to a 17-12 overall record. Denly mentored first-team all-NSAA guard Asha Scott while senior Faith Ross garnered second-team all-league honors for the fourth time in her career. 

The 2021-22 season saw the women's basketball program stumble some for the first time since their inaugural season. A trying regular season saw the Bruins finish the year at 15-17 and 6-8 in conference play. Despite that, Bellevue found its footing in the post-season and reached the NSAA Championship game for the second-straight season and third time in four years before succumbing to Dakota State. Elexis Martinez yet again earned honorable mention NAIA All-America and first-team all-conference honors, while Asha Scott and Faith Ross were each selected as honorable mention all-NSAA picks.

For the third-straight season, Bellevue finished at least ten games over the .500 mark during the COVID-impacted 2020-21 season with a 17-7 overall mark. Bellevue took home runner-up honors in both the NSAA regular-season standings and the league tournament. Elexis Martinez was named an All-American for the third-straight season, earning recognition from both the NAIA and WBCA. Martinez, also a first-team all-NSAA pick, was joined on the all-conference team by Faith Ross (second team) and Jamie Winkler (honorable mention), the latter of whom was also recognized as BU's Champion of Character.

Denly guided the Bruins to their second-straight 20-win campaign (21-11, 11-3 NSAA) during the 2019-20 season. With a 6-3 conference mark heading into the final five games of the season, Bellevue rattled off five-straight conference wins to claim a share of the NSAA Regular-Season crown and earn the top seed for the league tournament. Elexis Martinez and Faith Ross repeated as first and second-team all-NSAA selections, respectively, while Brittany Hill earned honorable mention accolades after proving the be the conference's most impactful player off the bench. Bellevue hosted their fourth-straight NSAA Quarterfinal, defeating Presentation by an 82-46 margin, to go on to the NSAA Semifinals at the Watertown Civic Arena.

The 2018-19 season saw the Bruins claim both the NSAA Regular-Season and Tournament Championships to earn the program's first berth into the NAIA Division II National Tournament. With a 23-10 overall record and 11-3 mark in NSAA play, the Bruins set a new high-water mark for wins and matched a program-best for conference wins. Elexis Martinez earned the program's second-straight Honorable Mention All-America honor after being named a first-team all-NSAA performer. Faith Ross (second-team all-NSAA), Morgan Cuffe (H.M. all-NSAA), and Shayla Dean (NSAA Defensive Player of the Year) all earned conference post-season honors. Laura Jurek was named the NSAA Final Four MVP after averaging 10 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in BU's semifinal and championship game wins over Valley City State and Mayville State, respectively. The season also saw Bellevue pick up its first win over a Top 15-ranked team when the Bruins upset then No. 13 Dordt College, 78-76, before a raucous crowd at the Gordon Lozier Athletic Center on Dec. 11.

Denly guided the Bruins to a 19-13 overall record during the 2017-18 season and a third-place finish during the NSAA regular-season with an 11-5 mark in league play. Bellevue picked up their first-ever NSAA Tournament victory, defeating Presentation College, 92-60, in the quarterfinal round on Feb. 21. Following the season, Caletria Curtis earned Honorable Mention All-America honors while the Bruins saw two players - Curtis and Ryleigh McCartney selected to the all-NSAA first and second teams, respectively.

Denly led the Bruins in their inaugural season to a 16-15 overall record and to a fourth-place finish in the NSAA regular-season standings with a 9-7 league mark. He mentored Caletria Curtis, who became the school's first all-conference selection during the 2016-17 campaign. 

Before coming to BU, Denly spent 17 seasons as the head coach at Southwestern while also serving as the school's athletic director for six years. He compiled an overall record of 348-171 (.671), guiding his teams to eight consecutive 20-win seasons, setting school records along the way for both total victories in a season and conference wins in a season.

He coached 24 first-team all-conference players, 38 NAIA Scholar-Athletes, and 84 academic all-conference selections in his tenure at Southwestern, and the Lady Builders had the KCAC Player of the Year four times during his tutelage.

In 2014-15, Denly led Southwestern to a 22-10 record (13-5 KCAC) and a fifth-straight appearance in the NAIA Division II National Tournament while finishing at No. 25 in the final NAIA national poll.

Denly was named the KCAC Coach of the Year three times and is the 16th-winningest women's basketball coach in the NAIA in terms of victories. 

Before taking over the women's program at SC, Denly served as an assistant coach to Brad Horstmann in the Builder men's program for two years. During that time, the Southwestern men qualified for the national tournament and won the KCAC post-season tournament.

Denly played at Pekin (Packwood) High School in rural Iowa, where he led the Panthers to a 51-23 record in four years and was a four-year letterwinner and a three-year all-conference performer. During his junior and senior seasons, he was named to the all-state teams in both basketball and football. He still holds numerous records at his high school, where he is the all-time scoring leader with 1,263 points.

He played collegiately at Wartburg College in Waverly, Iowa, and the Knights went 56-23 and won two conference championships during his four years, also qualifying for the NCAA DIII national tournament in both of those championship seasons. 

Denly graduated from Wartburg in 1993 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in business administration and accounting.

Denly is married to Sara (Peterson) Denly, a Southwestern alum (2000) from Herington, Kan. The couple has two children: Benjamin Cole and Abegale Jayne.

Updated July 6, 2023