Ryenn Micaletti joined the Longwood coaching staff as recruiting coordinator and assistant coach in the fall of 2020 and was elevated to associate head coach in the fall of 2021. When she came to Farmville, she reunited with head coach Rebecca Tillett for the third time in her coaching career. The two previously worked together at the United States Naval Academy and Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
In her first season on the bench, the Lancers broke a variety of team records. The team posted its best Big South winning percentage (.667), highest Big South finish (No. 3) and highest overall winning percentage (.560) while also tying the program record for overall wins (14) since joining the Big South in 2012-13. The team also finished went 14-11 to finish above .500 for the first time since the 2007-08 season. In addition, the team received an invitation to its first Division I postseason tournament with a bid to the Women’s Basketball Invitational.
In addition, five players receive postseason honors from the Big South, a program best, with forward Akila Smith being named the Defensive Player of the Year in the Big South. Kyla McMakin and Smith both were named to the All-Big South first team, the first time the program has had two first-teamers in the same season since joining the Big South.
Under Micaletti’s tutelage, Smith was one of the top shot blockers in the nation, finishing in the top five in both blocks and blocks per game. Smith also pulled off the blocks trifecta in the record book, breaking both the career and single-game blocks record while also breaking her own single-season record. In addition, Smith was recognized as the Defensive Player of the Year by VaSID as the top defensive player in the state of Virginia, and she and McMakin were both named to the VaSID first team.
Micaletti came to Longwood following four seasons at Navy, during which the program both tied and broke the record for wins in a season, made multiple appearances in the finals of the conference tournament and also made multiple postseason appearances, including a win in the WNIT.
“Ryenn brings so much to this program as a whole and to me personally,” said head coach Rebecca Tillett. “To all of us she brings a history of elevating every program she joins. She has a wealth of experience propelling programs forward, including ones that need reviving and ones that need a push to the championship level. At this time in Longwood women’s basketball history, she is exactly who we need to make the next jump towards championship caliber character and performance.
“Two things I wholeheartedly support are Tillett’s passion for women’s empowerment and Longwood’s commitment to citizen leadership,” Micaletti said. “I am so grateful that my coaching journey has led me to this moment. Over the past few years, this program has laid a foundation of love, joy, toughness, and collective responsibility. I am honored to be working with Tillett, who I feel is one of the best coaches in the country. I have always admired her unwavering competitive edge, deep love for the game, and her unique ability to build strong relationships with not only student-athletes, but anyone she meets.”
In 2016-17, Micaletti’s first year on the Navy staff, the Mids went 24-10 to tie a program record for wins (which was broken the following season). In addition, the team advanced to the finals of the conference tournament and earned a trip to the WNIT before knocking off George Washington in the first round for the program’s first national postseason tournament victory.
In 2017-18, the team set the record for wins with a 25-win campaign that culminated with a trip to the finals in the conference tournament and a second straight trip to the WNIT.
Prior to Navy, Micaletti spent two seasons at Slippery Rock and helped bring the program back to life. In the two seasons, Slippery Rock won 24 games after winning only 25 in the previous 131 games, and Micaletti helped the squad qualify for a playoff spot for the first time in 10 seasons.
She and Tillett first worked on staff together as assistants at Indiana University Pennsylvania in 2013-14 to help IUP compile an 18-10 record.
Micaletti started her collegiate coaching career as an assistant at Point Park University for two years, helping the Pioneers make back-to-back trips to the NAIA Division II National Tournament while setting records for wins in both seasons.
The 2012-13 season was one of the best in Point Park history as the Pioneers racked up a 25-7 record that broke the school’s record for wins, which had been set the season prior. The squad won both the regular season and tournament crown in the Kentucky Intercollegiate Athletic Conference on the way to a second straight trip to the national tournament.
In 2011-12, Point Park went 23-7 and set a program record for wins in her first season on staff while claiming a share of the American Mideast Conference regular season title with a 12-2 conference record. The Pioneers went on to win the conference tournament championship and snag the program’s first spot at the NAIA Division II national tournament. The team earned its first ever national ranking and ended the season ranked 21st in the NAIA Division II Women’s Basketball Coaches’ Top 25 Poll.
As a player, Micaletti played for four years at Seton Hill. In her final two seasons, her squad went 45-16 and advanced to the NCAA Division II Tournament as a junior. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history with a secondary social studies teaching certification from Seton Hill and earned her master’s in curriculum and instruction from Point Park in 2016. In September of 2020, she completed her Diversity and Inclusion certificate from Cornell University.
Micaletti lives in Chesterfield with her wife, Kyria, and her step daughter Rhyenn.
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