Tammi Reiss is officially taking the wheel of the University of Florida's women's basketball program, with the Gators announcing her hire as head coach yesterday. Reiss arrives from the University of Rhode Island, where she engineered a major rebuild that ended with a conference championship and NCAA Tournament appearance, and she steps in for Kelly Rae Finley as Florida again tries to find a steady footing in the SEC.
According to the Orlando Sentinel, Florida athletic director Scott Stricklin called Reiss "a proven winner and an outstanding leader." Her hiring wraps up a national search and becomes Stricklin's third head-coaching choice in women's basketball at Florida.
Rhode Island turnaround
Reiss took over at Rhode Island in 2019 and rattled off back-to-back seasons with program-record win totals, capped by a 28-win campaign that produced the Rams' first Atlantic 10 tournament title and first NCAA Tournament berth in 30 years, per the Atlantic 10. As the University of Rhode Island notes, she became the program's all-time leader in wins and rebuilt a team that had managed only one winning season in the 15 years before she arrived.
Gators' recent struggles
Florida parted ways with Kelly Rae Finley on March 9 after five seasons in charge. Finley finished with a 93-75 overall mark and a 30-50 record in SEC play, including four consecutive 5-11 conference seasons, according to The Independent Florida Alligator. Stricklin said the program was looking for a coach who could return the Gators to the NCAA Tournament regularly, and Reiss was brought in with that expectation front and center.
Her résumé and coaching tree
Reiss was a three-time All-American at Virginia, played in three Final Fours and became a first-round WNBA draft pick, with a coaching career that has included assistant roles at Virginia, San Diego State and Syracuse, per the University of Rhode Island. While at Syracuse, she worked with guards such as Alexis Peterson, a partnership Reiss later discussed in an ESPN feature that highlighted Peterson's breakout.
What comes next
The move will immediately shape Florida's roster. The NCAA now uses a 15-day transfer window that opens five days after a new head coach is hired, which gives current players a short stretch to explore the portal while Reiss assembles her staff, according to NCAA.org. Reiss said Florida's resources, academics, and SEC membership give her the tools to build a championship-caliber program in Gainesville, as reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
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