KINGSTON, R.I. -- Rhode Island women's basketball head coach Tammi Reiss is among the top five finalists for the 2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award presented by Her Hoop Stats, it was announced Thursday. 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. This year's finalists include coaches from four conferences. 


Reiss has led the Rams to a program-record 28-4 this season, including a 16-2 slate in Atlantic 10 action. Rhody won its first Atlantic 10 Tournament title on Sunday, making its second appearance in the NCAA Tournament and the first since 1996. Reiss collected her third A-10 Coach of the Year honor after leading the Rams to their most successful season in program history, and Rhode Island was represented in every A-10 postseason category for the first time ever, earning a spot on the All-Conference First, Second, Third, Rookie, Defensive, and Academic Team.

The Rams learn their fate at the Big Dance this Sunday, March 15 at 8:00 p.m. on ESPN.

2026 Kathy Delaney-Smith Mid-Major Coach of the Year Award Finalists
Carly Thibault-DuDonis, Fairfield
Jory Collins, North Dakota St.
Carla Berube, Princeton
Tammi Reiss, Rhode Island
Aaron Johnston, South Dakota St.


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 winner will be announced on April 2. 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).