Coaching Honors & Awards
- 3x3 Olympic Bronze Medalist - Team USA Assistant Coach
- 3x3 World Championship Gold Medal Winner - Team USA Assistant Coach
- 2022-23 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year
- ESPNW National Coach of the Week (Feb. 6, 2023)
- 2020-21 Atlantic 10 Coach of the Year
- ESPNW National Coach of the Week (Feb. 14, 2022)
Head coach Tammi Reiss has set record after record during her five years leading the Rams. In 2022-23, Reiss led Rhode Island to a program-best 26 wins en route to its first-ever Atlantic 10 Regular Season Championship. This came after Rhody set a record of 22 wins in the 2021-22 campaign, and Reiss became the first coach in program history to lead the Rams to back-to-back 20-win seasons. No other coach has made a run in the postseason, and Reiss had the Rams rolling into the WNIT Super 16 in 2022-23, picking up two postseason wins for the first time ever. Â
Reiss has put Rhode Island on the national radar: earning votes from both the AP Top 25 Poll and six straight weeks of receiving votes in the USA TODAY Sports Coaches Poll.Â
Reiss, a two-time ESPNW National Coach of the Week, led Rhode Island to their fourth straight winning A-10 slate in 2023-24, another program first.
Under Reiss’ leadership, 12 Rams have earned All-Conference accolades, and 10 have gone off to sign contracts to play professionally overseas. Under Reiss' leadership, Emmanuelle Tahane was named Co-Player of the Year as the first Ram to earn the honor since 1985, while Mayé Touré was just the second Ram to ever earn Most Improved Player of the Year honors.Â
Reiss collected the 2020-21 A-10 Coach of the Year; just the second in program history. She was named the league’s Coach of the Year again in 2022-23.Â
Reiss has increased alumni engagement as well as fundraising for the program. On the annual URI Day of Giving, Reiss announced the team helped raised over $300,000.
Reiss led the Rams to new heights during her first year in 2019-20. Rhody set a then-program-record 10 wins in the Ryan Center, the best since the building opened its doors in 2002-03. Under Reiss, the Rams doubled their conference win total (6) from a year prior.
With a strong reputation as a communicator, Reiss has a history of recruiting and player development. She comes to URI after spending four years as an assistant coach at Syracuse. During her time with the Orange, she worked closely with the guards and helped Syracuse to three straight NCAA Tournament second round appearances. She mentored the only players in program history to earn WBCA Division I Coaches All-America Honors in Alexis Peterson, Brittney Sykes, and Tiana Mangakahia. Peterson and Mangakahia also earned Associated Press All-America Honors. Both Peterson and Sykes were selected in the 2017 WNBA Draft and Sykes went on to earn 2017 WNBA All-Rookie Team honors.
Reiss helped Syracuse to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances, owning a 7-4 record at the big dance.The Orange had 99 wins during her four-year span, including 45 conference victories. Following its run to the national championship game in 2016, the team was ranked No.3 nationally in the final USAToday Coaches poll, its highest rank in program history.
Before Syracuse, Reiss spent time at Cal State Fullerton as the associate head coach. She served as the Titans’ recruiting coordinator and was responsible for game and practice preparation, player development with emphasis on guard play, and conducted the offseason conditioning program.
From 2011-13, Reiss was an assistant coach at San Diego State, where she helped guide the Aztecs to two conference regular-season titles, the 2012 MountainWest Tournament crown,and one NCAA Tournament appearance. She mentored Courtney Clements, the 2012 MountainWest Player of the Year, and Chelsea Hopkins, who was named the 2012 MountainWest Newcomer of the Year and MountainWest Player of the Year in 2013.
Prior to working at San Diego State, Reiss served as an assistant coach for the WNBA’s San Antonio Silver Stars and Utah Starzz. During her time in Utah, the Starzz advanced to the Western Conference final in 2002.
Reiss was an assistant coach at her alma mater, Virginia, from 1993-96. She helped guide the Cavaliers to two ACC regular season titles and three NCAA Tournament appearances, including two trips to the Elite Eight.
She was a four-year starter for the Cavaliers, earning All-American honors in1992. She led UVA to three ACC regular-season titles, two league tournament championships, and three Final Four appearances. Reiss earned All-Conference honors three times in her career and was named to the All-ACC TournamentTeam twice. She ended her collegiate career ranked first in school history in 3-point field goals made (139) and 3-point field goal percentage (.416) and was second in points (1,842) and free throws made (437).
Reiss was the fifth overall pick in the 1997 WNBA Draft by the Starzz. She played two seasons for Utah, serving as team captain.
To add to her impressive athletic career, Reiss is also credited with multiple roles as an actress in movies Juwanna Mann and DoubleTeamed, as well as the TV series Sister, Sister.
updated: 8/28/24
