The Florida Gators are searching for a ticket to the big dance. The program fired Kelly Rae Finley after missing out on the NCAA Tournament for the fourth consecutive time. Now, Tammi Reiss takes over. She led Rhode Island to its first Tournament appearance in 30 years. However, with the new coach comes a major roster overhaul as Reiss is left with no option but to rebuild this team from scratch.
“Tammi Reiss is a proven winner and an outstanding leader whose experience as both a player and coach stood out throughout this process,” said athletic director Scott Stricklin. “She brings tremendous enthusiasm, an unbelievable competitive spirit, and a relentless work ethic that will resonate with our student-athletes and our entire program.” Yet, it seems most of their squad from this past season was not ready to return.
Nine players from their 2025-26 roster have entered the transfer portal. The only players left are Me’Arah O’Neal and Jade Weathersby. O’Neal was the second leading scorer of the team and averaged 13.6 points and 6.4 rebounds. Weathersby, on the other hand, came off the bench while averaging 5.1 points and 2.9 rebounds. That’s not all, as their two freshman recruits, Arynn Finley and Kennedy Holman, have also decommitted from Florida.
The most significant exit of all was Liv McGill. “it’s over now, you heard it loud from me. 
” She wrote. McGill was undoubtedly the star of the show, leading the side, averaging 22.5 points,6.3 assists and 6.1 rebounds. However, this is not all on the coaching change.
According to a recent report from the Gainesville Sun, Florida spent the least on women’s basketball in fiscal year 2024 of all 15 public school programs in the SEC. The Gators spent just more than $5 million, which is less than half of what contenders like LSU and South Carolina spent. The budget for a new head coach was also among the lowest in the SEC with Reiss signing on a $950,000 per year contract, which totals $4.5 million. For context, Kim Mulkey is earning more than $3.2 million a season.
They also rank last in the SEC in average home attendance, drawing about 1,895 fans per game. There is a possibility the players wanted more NIL money, which drew them away from the program. Regardless, the reality is that Reiss will have to rebuild the Florida Gators from the ground up like she did at Rhode Island.
That is not necessarily a bad thing. The players need to buy in to the way Reiss plays basketball. There needs to be a proper fit for a team to succeed. Now she can bring in players that fit her style of play. From a team that relied on their offense and was 241st in points conceded, they moved to a defense-heavy system.
Reiss’ Rhode Island team ranked 6th in the country in points conceded with only 54.2 per game. However, she has admitted to infusing more offense into her system too. “I like to play fast on both sides of the ball,” She said. The first move after coming tot he program is to bring back an assistant coach from her former job.
Florida Gators Hire Assistant Coach Before Major Portal Moves
“I was a huge fan of Jen as a player and as an assistant at Quinnipiac,” said Reiss. “And was determined to add her to my staff at Rhode Island when I had the opportunity. Over the last two years, Jen has grown tremendously in areas such as player skill development, Xs and Os implementation, and recruiting.”
Fay joined Reiss’ coaching staff in May of 2024 after which she helped them to a 28-5 record in 2025-26. She has plenty of coaching experience from her almamater, Quinnipiac College. She also had a playing career that made her one of the most decorated players in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) history.
Fay ranked 16th in program history with 1,277 points and 8th in made three-pointers with 146. She averaged over 10 points per game in each of her final three seasons at Quinnipiac. “I know how special the university of Florida is and cannot wait to take on this new challenge with Coach Reiss and the elite-level staff she has put together,” she said. “Her ability to connect with and develop players on and off the court is second to none, and I witnessed that firsthand on a daily basis at URI. I’m excited to get started in Gainesville.” Now, Reiss is on the drawing board searching for her first target in the transfer portal for the Florida Gators.
