KINGSTON, R.I. -- Rhode Island women's basketball head coach Tammi Reiss has been named to the midseason 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award watch list presented by Her Hoop Stats, it was announced Wednesday. Reiss is one of three Atlantic 10 coaches selected among the 10 finalists. This is the third season of the award, named after the legendary former Harvard head coach. Richmond's Aaron Roussell was named the award's second winner in 2025.

Reiss has led the Rams to 12 straight wins, already surpassing their win total from a season ago with an 18-2 record on the year. Rhody is undefeated in league play, posting a 9-0 record, while collecting 16 votes in the latest AP Top 25 women's basketball Poll. Earlier this season, Reiss became the all-time winningest head coach in program history after defeating George Washington on Jan. 7. She's now up to 128 career wins after the Rams defeated Dayton on the road last time out. 

Rhody is back in action on Saturday, Jan. 31 for a battle of the Rams at Fordham. Game time is set for 2:00 p.m. on ESPN+. 

Award Eligibility & Schedule
To be eligible for the award, coaches must compete in one of the 26 conferences deemed to be "mid-major." The following conferences are considered high-major for the purposes of this award and thus ineligible: ACC, Big 12, Big East, Big Ten, and SEC. Additionally, Oregon State and Washington State remain ineligible this season as membership in the Pac-12 Conference evolves. Interim head coaches are eligible, though total games coached were taken into consideration.

The 20-person preseason watch list was announced in October. The five finalists for the award will be announced in March, with the winner being named around the Final Four. Coaches will be assessed across the entire season, including postseason play. Beyond on-court success, other factors such as recruiting, preseason expectations, injuries, and tactical coaching will also be weighed when assessing each candidate. Inclusion on previous watch lists is not a requirement to be considered for future watch lists.

About Kathy Delaney-Smith
Delaney-Smith's Harvard teams compiled a record of 630-434 (.592) in her 40-year career, including a 367-168 (.685) record in Ivy League play. Delaney-Smith's 630 wins rank 32nd in Division I history. Delaney-Smith led her teams to six NCAA Tournament appearances and nine WNIT appearances, plus three Ivy League titles before the NCAA Tournament awarded automatic bids to the Ivy League champion. She has coached nine Ivy League Player of the Year recipients, six Ivy League Rookie of the Year winners, and the first 22 of Harvard's 1,000-point scorers in the program's NCAA Division I history. Delaney-Smith was inducted into the Massachusetts Basketball Coaches Hall of Fame in 1986, becoming the first woman to ever be inducted, with more than three decades of her career still ahead of her. She was also inducted into the New England Basketball Hall of Fame in 2003. A native of Newton, Mass., Delaney-Smith is also among the most accomplished high school players and coaches in the state's history. She was the first woman in state history to score 1,000 points while at Sacred Heart High School. As a high school coach, Delaney-Smith coached Westwood High School to an overall record of 204-31 across 11 seasons, including a 96-game winning streak.

About Her Hoop Stats
Her Hoop Stats was founded in 2017 to unlock better insight about women's basketball at all levels. We began as a statistics site focused on providing consistent, reliable, and easy-to-access data about women's basketball for both mobile and desktop environments. Her Hoop Stats has expanded to become a leading independent voice in the women's game providing content through our newsletter, podcast network, YouTube channel, and social media accounts (Twitter, Bluesky, Facebook, Instagram).