UNC Asheville men’s basketball coach Mike Morrell announced the addition of Dennis Diaz to the coaching staff.
“We are excited to welcome Dennis to our program,” Morrell said of Diaz. “He exemplifies many of the traits and qualities we want UNC Asheville men’s basketball to be about. His past experience and background will serve him well in his new role here.”
Diaz comes to the Bulldogs’ staff from DME Academy in Daytona Beach, Florida, where he was the head coach for both the high school and post-graduate teams. In addition to coaching both teams, Diaz oversaw all the recruiting efforts, ran workouts, created highlight tapes and helped get players placed into college programs.
“I want to thank Coach Morrell and the staff for the opportunity to join this program,” Diaz said. “I’m extremely grateful and excited to be here at Asheville, I believe we have something special here. I can’t wait to see what this team can accomplish. Go Bulldogs!”
Diaz broke into the coaching ranks in 2019 when he was hired as the Associate Head Coach at Johnson University (Kissimmee, Florida). In just one year, Diaz helped Johnson University record its first ever winning season as a program, winning the South Region Championship for the National Christian Collegiate Athletic Association (NCCAA) and receiving a bid to the NCCAA national tournament for just the second time in the school’s history. While coaching at Johnson University, Diaz also served as the school’s Student-Athlete Recruiting Coordinator, working in the admissions office full time.
Prior to coaching, Diaz began his collegiate career playing for Stetson University (2011-13) before transferring to Flagler College in St. Augustine, Florida, where he would be a two-year starter and a team captain (2013-15). After college, Diaz played professional ball for the Orlando Waves, leading his team to a 17-3 record before deciding to pursue coaching.
Diaz graduated from Flagler with his bachelor’s in sport management in 2015, earning his MBA degree from University of Phoenix in 2018.
