Rebecca Tillett

Head Coach

Rebecca Tillett was named the head women’s basketball coach at Saint Louis University on April 12, 2022, becoming the eighth head coach in the program’s history.

In her first season at the helm of the Billikens women’s basketball program, Tillett made history, leading the team to its first-ever Atlantic 10 Conference tournament championship and NCAA Tournament berth.

After beginning the season with a 7-16 record, The Billikens went on a tear in February, compiling seven wins and a lone loss to finish in fourth place in the conference with a 10-6 A-10 record. A three-seed in the conference tournament, the Billikens won quarterfinal and semifinal games against Saint Joseph’s and Rhode Island to earn a spot in the tournament championship which ended in a thrilling 91-85 overtime win over UMass. With the championship, Tillett became only the second head coach in NCAA Division I women's basketball history – joining Lisa Bluder (Drake in 2000, Iowa in 2001) – to lead teams in different conferences to a tournament title in consecutive years.

SLU ended its season facing off against No. 3-seeded Tennessee in its first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance, a game that drew the most viewers – 639,000 – of any first-round contest.

Tillett’s championship team also produced three All-Conference selections with Brooke Flowers (co-Defensive Player of the Year, second team, All-Defensive team), Kyla McMakin (second team), and Julia Martinez (All-Defensive team) earning honors for the Billikens.

Prior to leading SLU’s program, Tillett spent the last four years reinvigorating the women’s team at Longwood University, a tenure that culminated with a conference championship, the program’s first NCAA Tournament appearance and the Lancers’ first NCAA Tournament victory.

Tillett inherited a Longwood squad that was just 31-119 in the five seasons prior to her arrival, and she turned the Lancers into a postseason team in just her third year. She went 36-19 across the previous two seasons and, in addition to this year’s NCAA Tournament, helped the Lancers earn a spot in the Women’s Basketball Invitational in 2020-21.

Winners in 15 of their final 17 games this past season, the Lancers turned in their best overall and league records since joining the Big South almost 10 years ago, finishing 22-12 overall and 15-3 in the conference. Five Lancers earned Big South postseason accolades for a second consecutive season, including the league’s Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year.

The Lancers took down top-seeded Campbell 86-47 in the Big South Championship final on March 6, punching their ticket to Longwood’s first-ever NCAA Tournament. Tillett’s transformation of the program took the Lancers from a 3-27 mark in her first season to Big South Tournament champions and March Madness participants in just three years.

The 22-12 overall record stands as Longwood’s best in its Division I era, a mark that beats the 16-13 record of the 2007-08 team in the Lancers’ first Division I season.

Tillett’s team this past year was strong defensively, ranking in the top 35 nationally in blocks (4.7, 27th) and steals (9.9, 35th) per game.

Prior to Longwood, Tillett began to climb the ranks on Navy’s bench in 2014-15, earning a promotion to recruiting coordinator in 2016-17 and associate head coach in 2017-18. In her four seasons, Navy went 81-47, including a program-record 25 wins in 2017-18, and reached the Patriot League Championship final and the Women’s National Invitation Tournament.

Before her stop at Navy, Tillett spent one season as an assistant coach with Division II Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 2013-14, where she helped the Crimson Hawks to an 18-10 record.

Prior to coaching collegiately, Tillett amassed a 166-72 overall record in a 10-year tenure with Virginia high schools, including stints at Osbourn Park High School in Manassas (2001-07) and Forest Park High School in Woodbridge (2007-13).

Tillett earned her bachelor’s degree from The College of William & Mary in 1999, finishing her collegiate playing career that season as team captain.

Tillett and her husband, Brett, have three children: Isabel, Jack and Maya.

Tillett earned her bachelor’s degree from The College of William & Mary in 1999, finishing her collegiate playing career that season as team captain.

Tillett and her husband, Brett, have three children: Isabel, Jack and Maya.