Cesar Benatti enters his tenth season at CSU Bakersfield in fall of 2023. He was named head beach volleyball coach at CSUB on June 29, 2016, setting him up for his seventh season at the helm of the Roadrunner beach squad in the spring of 2023. Benatti was also an assistant coach for the CSUB indoor volleyball team through the 2021 season.
As Head Beach Coach, Benatti has enjoyed nine `Runner pairs earning Big West All-Conference nods (2017, 2018, 2019, two in 2021, 2022, and 2023) while 31 `Runners have earned Academic All-Conference honors.
During the 2020 beach volleyball season, Benatti became the CSUB beach program's winningest coach. As of the end of the 2023 season, Benatti has 59 career victories with the `Runners.
The 2022 season featured Benatti’s squad earned its first AVCA Top 20 ranking, coming in at No. 20 in back-to-back weeks. The `Runners also tied their program single-season record with 11 wins on the year.
In 2023, Benatti’s squad rewrote the record books, posting a 16-10 record along the way. The 16 victories and the .615 win percentage were both program records. Individually, the `Runners reset most of the pairs records, including a CSUB record 18 wins from the No. 4 duo of Alanna Shields and Emma Bubelis.
Benatti also has experience coaching at the national level as he is a three-time USA Volleyball NTDP coach. During the 2022 Summer Series, he served as the U16/15 Assistant Coach before being named the team's Associate Head Coach for the Fall Series. In Winter 2022, Benatti was the U16/15 Head Coach for the USA Development Program.
In his time with the CSUB indoor squad, Benatti helped lead the indoor volleyball program to a pair of Western Athletic Conference Tournament titles and two NCAA Tournament appearances (2014 and 2017) as well as an NIVC postseason appearance (2021).
Benatti played professional volleyball in Brazil until 2000, when he started as an assistant coach in Esporte Clube Pinheiros. In Pinheiros, Benatti was a two time state champion and a two time Metropolitan area champion. From 2002-2009, Benatti was the conditioning and assistant coach at Club Athlético Paulistano. In his time with Athlético Paulistano, Benatti’s 17 and under team was Metropolitan champions in 2006 and state champions in 2007.
Benatti also worked as head coach at three universities in Brazil; FMU from 2002-06, University Mackenzie from 2006-09, where he won two state championships, and Casper Líbero from 2012-14, winning several local tournaments.
From 2009-11, Benatti worked with CSU Bakersfield Head Indoor Coach Giovana Melo at Western Nebraska Community College. He was part of the Western Nebraska staff that led the program to three Region IX Championships and the 2010 NJCAA Division I National Championship.
Benatti returned to Brazil in 2012, becoming the head coach at one of the main volleyball programs in the State of São Paulo, Ibirapuera, which holds more than 80 Volleyball athletes training and competing for the club, in four ages/gender categories.
A native of São Paulo, Brazil, Benatti lives in Bakersfield with his wife, Fernanda, and their daughter, Liz.
