Marcus Reilly
Marcus Reilly

Bio

Marcus Reilly will enter his fourth year as assistant coach of the Bryant University women's basketball team in 2022-23. 

"I am super excited to welcome Marcus Reilly to the Bryant women's basketball staff," said Burke. "After an extensive search, I believe Marcus poised the most experience at a variety of different levels in college basketball. The attributes that separated him from other candidates was his years of passion for player development, knowledge of the game, and outreach to different recruitable levels of women's basketball. My long-standing respect for Marcus over the years comes through his knowledge of the game and work ethic, which will no doubt be a great asset to the program as we continue to strive to be an elite program in the Northeast and the Northeast Conference. Welcome, Marcus!"

In 2021-22, the Bulldogs entered the NEC postseason as a seventh seed and made it to the NEC Championship against Mount St. Marys. The Black and Gold defeated number two seeded St. Francis Brooklyn in the quarterfinals by a score of 65-63 on the road. Nicole Gallagher (19), Mariona Planes Fortuny (17), and Brooke Bjelko, with 14 points, all reached double figures. Bryant then went on the road to face number-one seeded Fairleigh Dickinson in the semi-finals, whom they defeated 44-38 and held the NEC Player of the Year to five points. Bjelko also became the sixth player in DI program history to reach 1,000 career points and received Second-Team All-NEC honors.

In Reilly's second season as an assistant, he coached Brooke Bjelko to an All-NEC First-Team selection, where the senior led the conference in double-doubles (9), made field goals (128), points per game (15.9), rebounds (191), and rebounds per game (9.1). Bjelko also was the first player in program history to earn three consecutive NEC Player of the Week awards.

During his first season with the Black and Gold, Reilly oversaw two All-NEC selections in 2019-20. Reilly worked closely with All-Rookie team honoree Nicole Gallagher and All-NEC Second Team selection Sydney Holloway. Coach Reilly helped guide the Bulldogs to the quarterfinals of the NEC postseason tournament. 

Reilly comes to Smithfield after spending the last eight seasons with the University of Rhode Island as both the assistant, associate, and interim head coach. During his time at URI, Reilly coached multiple All A-10 selections as well as an All A-10 Rookie of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year.  

Prior to joining the Rams, Reilly was the Head Coach at Rhode Island College where he led the Anchormen to its highest regional seed in program history as the number 2 seed hosting the NCAA Tournament. He also posted the highest winning percentage of any four-year span in program history as well as developing seven All-Conference players, a Rookie of the Year and a Defensive Player of the Year.

Reilly has held other stints in the Ocean State including the head coach position at the Community College of Rhode Island and Cranston High School West. At CCRI, Reilly made back-to-back Elite 8 appearances in the NJCAA National Tournament and led Cranston West to its first and only state championship appearance. At the high school and AAU level, Reilly mentored and developed Bryant alum Joanna Skiba '07.

"Having coached in Rhode Island throughout my career, I've always viewed Coach Burke and her program as the epitome of consistency and success in our state and region's basketball culture," said Reilly. "I am grateful to her for this opportunity to help add to that success. With all of the tremendous growth in this University and athletic department, I know Bryant provides a truly elite student-athlete experience. I am excited to represent and grow that experience for all of our current players and future recruits in my new position on the women's basketball staff."

A 1999 graduate from Trinity College, Reilly earned his Bachelor of Arts in Public Policy and was a member of the men's basketball team that made a run to the Elite 8 in the NCAA Tournament.