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Wellesley native Katie Benzan is making history as the youngest female GM in the G League

Katie Benzan has made her presence felt with the Utah Jazz and Salt Lake City Stars. Courtesy Utah Jazz/Salt Lake City Stars

By Trevor Hass, The Boston Globe

September 10, 2025

5 minutes to read

Back in 2011, when 13-year-old Katie Benzan took the varsity floor as an eighth-grader for Noble and Greenough, players from the Tabor Academy bench snickered.

The plucky, 80-pound sharpshooter was relatively quiet in the first half. Even her mother, assistant coach Kim Benzan, asked coach Alex Gallagher if he was positive she was ready for the limelight.

But Benzan was ready.

In the second half, she erupted for six 3-pointers, steering the Bulldogs to a resounding 16-point win and announcing her arrival.

“She was an absolute star,” Gallagher told the Globe. “There were no fist pumps. There were no awkward smiles. There was nothing. This is what she’s expected of herself since she was very little.”

Benzan, a Wellesley native, is used to life as the youngest (or smallest) person in the room. At 5 feet, 6 inches, she starred at Nobles, Harvard, and the University of Maryland before eventually a spot with the WNBA’s Washington Mystics.

And in June, she made history when she became the Salt Lake City Stars’ general manager at age 27. Benzan is the youngest female GM in G League history, the league’s youngest active GM, and one of two women currently leading teams.

This role — which she will fill along with her responsibilities as the Utah Jazz’s manager of pro scouting — is another challenge, something she’s accustomed to.

“It never really fazed me,” Benzan said. “At the end of the day, regardless of if I’m a man or a woman, I got to create my value and my niche in this organization. I’m just hoping that I can pull up the next woman.”

Benzan and her mother always like to say she learned to play basketball before she could walk.

Battles with her mother and older brother Pat toughened her up. Pat and Kim both played at Holy Cross, and Kim coached at Needham High before following her daughter to Nobles.

Kim frequently brought Benzan to practices when she was as young as 6. Benzan loved building relationships with the players and learning the game through their eyes.

She began playing AAU at age 10. She says basketball trips with her mother and aunt, Kathy Kelley, are still some of her fondest memories.

A journey to Rwanda with Shooting Touch fueled Benzan’s passion for helping others. She remembers one game against 18-year-old boys that ended in “Katie! Katie! Katie!” chants.

Her competitive spirit in Rwanda and back in the States helped her overcome concerns about her size when doubters continued to insist she was too small to shine in college.

“I just used that disbelief as fuel and motivation to prove them wrong,” Benzan said.

And she did. Benzan earned first-team All-Ivy League honors from 2018-20 at Harvard, shooting 94 percent from the free throw line as a freshman, and averaging 13-plus points per game each season.

She used her last two years of eligibility to play under Brenda Frese at Maryland. Benzan guided the Terrapins to two Sweet 16s, setting a program record with a blistering career 3-point percentage of 47.4.

Katie Benzan, who previously played at Harvard, guided Maryland to two Sweet 16s, setting a program record with a career 3-point percentage of 47.4. – Charlie Neibergall

When Benzan called home and Kim told her she was one of the best 3-point shooters in the country, Benzan had no idea. She wasn’t paying attention to the stats.

“She has an uncanny ability to stay in the moment,” Kim said. “She’s the most competitive person I’ve ever met, and I coached for 20 years.”

After leaving Maryland in 2022, Benzan wasn’t drafted into the WNBA. She was almost ready to transition to the next chapter. One day, Mystics coach and general manager Mike Thibault called and asked her if she wanted to try out.

Benzan appeared in just three games in the league, but they produced a pinch-me moment. Against the Las Vegas Aces, she guarded Kelsey Plum and scored 12 points as the Mystics outlasted Becky Hammon’s squad.

“It’s still mind-blowing to me,” Benzan said.

She was unsure where life would take her next when a surprising call came, asking if she wanted to interview with Jazz general manager Justin Zanik and CEO Danny Ainge for a basketball operations generalist role.

Zanik said that when they met, Benzan impressed him with not only her basketball acumen but also her drive to learn all facets of the organization.

Moving across the country to a city where she knew no one outside of the organization was daunting, but Benzan decided it was too enticing to pass up.

“It took enormous strength, confidence, and courage for a 22-year-old to do that,” Kim Benzan said. “Then, she just dove into the work. It’s something that she’s done her whole life.”

Even when life had other plans. In November 2023, while traveling to Chicago for work, Benzan received a phone call with devastating news. Her beloved aunt Kathy had been diagnosed with brain cancer.

Benzan knew in her heart she had to be close to home. For months, the Jazz allowed her to work from Massachusetts. Benzan attended Boston College, Providence College, and Maine Celtics games as a Boston-based remote scout and spent most of her time watching film with Kathy.

Kathy, a lifelong rebounder, confidante, and supporter — she brought Benzan chicken soup when she was sick at Harvard and flew to Indianapolis to watch the Terrapins capture a Big Ten title — died just five months later in February.

“My aunt has always been a part of my journey,” Benzan said. “She was a big part of my life.”

That month, Benzan returned to Utah and had to hit the ground running. She was transitioning to a new role as the Jazz’s coordinator of pro scouting and assistant general manager of the Stars.

Benzan is often one of few women in the room. She focuses on her body language and confidence, and reminds herself she belongs because she’s put in the work.