Rhode Island women's basketball in line for 'complete reset' next season
SOUTH KINGSTOWN — Tammi Reiss was fresh off a morning practice with what will be a somewhat unrecognizable University of Rhode Island team entering the 2024-25 season.
The Rams have turned over multiple members of the roster and half the coaching staff. It’s the start of a shift entering her sixth women’s basketball season in Kingston and opening night is less than fourth months away.
URI fell in the Atlantic 10 tournament title game to end its 2023-24 campaign. Reaching the final might have been expected even after a roller-coaster ride through the majority of the regular season. What Reiss hopes for is something a bit more straightforward when the Rams reconvene for their next trip through the winter months.
“Next year is going to be a complete reset, and I think it was time to do a complete reset,” Reiss said. “There are times, for me, when different is good. Different challenges, different thought processes, different energy coming in.”
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Associate head coach Megan Shoniker was hired away from her alma mater and will run her own program at New Hampshire. Assistant coach Takima Keane wasn’t retained after two seasons. Reiss brought in former Siena head coach Ali Jaques as an associate head coach, former Quinnipiac assistant and recruiting coordinator Jen Fay as an assistant coach and former Indiana student manager Tyler Lowder as a video coordinator.
“We needed change,” Reiss said. “New ideas to uplift us. Get some new blood in. I think it was time.”
URI closed 21-14 last season but just 10-8 in league play. Wins over Princeton, Harvard, Saint Louis and George Mason were dampened by losses to Quinnipiac, Providence and Loyola Chicago. The Rams downed Dayton, Saint Joseph's and the Billikens in the conference tournament before coming up short against Richmond, which swept regular season and tournament crowns on the way to March Madness.
“We will be young but these kids compete,” Reiss said. “They compete. I don’t have to beg them to work hard in practice. Once we put the pieces together, we’ll know what we have.”
Sophie Phillips and Anaelle Dutat are among the returning veterans who have impressed during summer sessions. Reiss also expects major contributions from San Diego transfer Harsimran Kaur and Washington State transfer Cia Eklöf. URI could announce as many as four additional new players before school resumes in the fall.
“We’ve watched [Dutat] grow this summer into an unbelievable player,” Reiss said. “We’ve got certain players like [Dutat] and [Kaur] who have to come in.
“It's their time. They’ve got to step up and take the reins and lead us.”
Reiss was set for a recruiting trip beginning Thursday before heading to Paris with Team USA. This is likely to be her last summer attempting to split time between the national setup and the Rams. Reiss acknowledged feeling a bit tired at points during last season and wants to devote all of her energy to the college game going forward.“I miss a lot of recruiting,” Reiss said. “I miss a lot with my team. It’s why I need to have great assistants.
“This is probably my final go-around. I want to focus on Rhody basketball from this point on.”
bkoch@providencejournal.com
On X: @BillKoch25
This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Rhode Island women's basketball in line for 'complete reset'
