Last Sunday Tennessee Tech beat Lindenwood in OT in the OVC tourney title game to earn an automatic bid to next week’s NCAA women’s tournament. The Golden Eagles only won 16 games in 2024 but bounced back this year to claim the school’s 2nd NCAA tourney bid in the past 3 years. Earlier today HoopsHD’s Jon Teitel got to speak with Tennessee Tech G Reghan Grimes about being named 1st-team all-conference and having a 17-game winning streak.
You did basketball/track/volleyball at Ravenwood High School: which sport were you best at, and which sport did you enjoy the most? My parents might have a different answer, but statistically I was best at track, as I set a state record in the discus. Basketball was my go-to sport, but I also loved playing volleyball with my friends.
What made you choose Tennessee Tech? I knew that I wanted to go somewhere where I could win a championship while also playing a lot. Tennessee Tech had some success before I arrived, but they lost a few 5th-year seniors so they had a lot of spots to fill.
You play for Coach Kim Rosamond: what makes her such a good coach, and what is the most important thing that you have learned from her so far? Her drive is so high and she pushes us to be the best: she will not settle for us being “good”. We try to get 1% better every day because her focus is on us not having a ceiling. She taught me to always strive for greatness.
As a freshman in the 2023 NCAA tourney, you had 6 REB in a win over Monmouth: how big a deal was it to help the Golden Eagles get their 1st NCAA tourney win in more than 30 years? Going into the 1st 4 we knew that we had an opportunity to show everyone what we were capable of. My job as a freshman was to rebound/defend/help the team however I could. Even though I had some foul trouble that night it was still a huge win.
Last week you were named All-OVC 1st-team: what did it mean to you to receive such an outstanding honor? It has been a goal of mine since I 1st decided to set goals. We had a lot of new faces this year so I knew that I would have to take on a bigger role if I wanted us to achieve the success we were capable of. I put in a lot of work and my teammates/coaches trusted me so I was grateful to check that off my list.
Last Saturday in the OVC tourney title game you scored 23 PTS in 41 minutes to help clinch a 6-PT OT win over Lindenwood: how were you able to play your best when it mattered the most, and what was the feeling like in your locker room afterward? I was not satisfied with my performance in our semifinal game, nor with my performance against them in our final regular season game. I let a lot of teams off the hook during the past few weeks so I wanted to go out and be the best player I could be. I came in with the mindset of not letting my team down and just making the next play. I trusted myself and my teammates: at no point was I worried about the outcome of the game because I knew that nobody would stop me from what I set out to do. We had the same motivation all season: our goal all year was to go 2-0 each week so we already had that preparation entering the conference tourney. The locker room was fun because we all had the same goal and were able to achieve success.
You have played 17 games during the past 2 months…and won every single 1 of them en route to tying the school record with 26 wins in a season: has your team’s confidence level reached a point where you expect to win every time that you step onto the court? Coach always says, “The outcome is a distraction”. We are not focused on our winning streak because doing that will make you tense. We had a tight game at Little Rock last month (a 61-57 win), but once we decided to play to win rather than “not to lose”, it helped us stay focused on the goal of taking it 1 game/possession at a time. We just try to win the next 5 minutes.
You are studying psychology on a pre-med track and want to become an orthopedic surgeon or do something in the field of sports psychology: how has your background on the court helped prepare you for your future career off the court (if at all)? Right now I am gearing more towards sports psychology because I have had struggles as an athlete myself, but took lessons from my studies to shift my mental perspective. Every athlete needs someone to talk to so that they can overcome both internal/external pressures. The field has been growing over the past few years and I think that every team should have a health professional who players can talk to.
Your father Reggie played for the New England Patriots, your mother Mikaela did track and field at Nebraska/Alabama, your brother Reggie II plays football at Oklahoma, and your sister Maya did track and field at Austin Peay/Louisiana Tech: who is the best athlete in the family? I get that question a lot, but it is usually who is the best of the siblings. We all played several sports growing up: my brother focused on football as he became a high-level prospect, but my mom taught us the importance of playing multiple sports. We got great genes from our parents…but I think I am the most athletic! I could have played D-1 in any of the sports I did during high school, but I got here because both of my siblings pushed me to be the best.
What kind of seed do you think you deserve, and what kind of seed do you think you will get? Bracketologists say different things: we were a #16 seeds a couple of years ago but I think we will be higher this time. I am VERY excited to see if we sneak in as a 14/15 seed, but either way we will be ready to show the world who we are!
