Backup forward Jade Weathersby was the only member of the '25-26 UF women's basketball team that opted against the transfer portal and will play under the new staff in '26-27. [photo by Laney Martin]
Weathersby is the One
Thursday, April 30, 2026 | Women's Basketball, Chris Harry
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By: Chris Harry, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Her weight room workouts begin in the 8 a.m. hour. Jade Weathersby lifts by herself under the watchful eye of the Florida women's basketball athletic performance coach.
Her skill workouts usually follow in the 9 a.m. hour. Again, only Weathersby and an assistant, and maybe a manager, on the floor. That's it.
If it sounds like a lonely existence, it's really not.
"Honestly, it's been fun," Weathersby said. Jade Weathersby
And it's temporary, of course. Weathersby, for the moment, is one of one; as in the sole member of UF's 2026-27 team. Given the seismic shakeup on the women's side of the Hathcock Basketball Complex this spring, some might see her as the lone survivor, but a more apropos description might be the lone soldier.
Or better yet, the lone believer.
"I like a challenge," Weathersby said.
On March 24, Tammi Reiss met with the Gators for the first time, a day after being named successor to dismissed Kelly Rae Finley, as the 12th head coach in UF women's hoops history. Reiss, a former All-America player with nearly three decades of basketball on her resume, arrived after seven seasons at Rhode Island, coming off a 28-win campaign and the school's first NCAA Tournament berth in 30 years. She was direct in addressing the 10 returning UF players relative to expectations – on and off the floor – and spoke of cultivating a culture rooted in accountability and commitment. Reiss asked only that they hear her out and give her a chance.
"You can't start a foundation with coaches and players who aren't aligned and believe in our vision," Reiss said this week, looking back on the messaging of that day. "There was no lack of clarity as to how this was going to be, from administration all the way down to the managers."
Her missive was so clear that within a matter of days nine of the 10 players, including first-team All-Southeastern Conference point guard Liv McGill, had entered the transfer portal.
Only Weathersby, a 6-foot-2 backup forward, chose to stick it out, making her a rather exceptional exception.
Jade Weathersby (right) listened to new coach Tammi Reiss' vision for the UF program and liked what she heard.
Over the last several weeks, Reiss and her new coaching staff have been hard at work in replenishing the roster by signing 10 players, including portal prizes Kiyomi McMiller (two-time All-Big Ten point guard from Penn State) and 6-3 forward Vivian Iwuchukwu (Southern California), as well as Maryland prep standout guard Bailey Harris.
Reiss intends to sign at least one more, meaning a locker room of 12 or 13 total strangers eventually will convene on campus later this summer.
So, why would a reserve who averaged only 5.1 points and 3.5 rebounds over 14 minutes a game roll the dice with her senior season and put her trust in an unknown new coach with a very different and far more stringent way of doing things?
"I definitely have gotten that question a good amount. Everybody has their reason for leaving and I wish my teammates the best," Weathersby said Tuesday. "But the reason I stayed is because I believe in Tammi and what she's building. I know NIL is a big thing now and people can make money, but for me it's not about that. I want to play for a coach who has the right idea about leadership and wants to carry the team to wins. Plus, this is the University of Florida. This is a great school. So instead of asking me, 'Why stay?,' for me, it's more like, 'Why not?' "
Part of that "why not" leans into that old adage. The one about comfort being the cancer of ambition. Weathersby was ready to exit her comfort zone.
Which leans into another old adage: If it was easy, everyone could do it.
"A lot of people don't like change. Change can be intimidating. But change can also be good, and when you have support and confidence behind it, you jump on it," she said. "I see the direction this program wants to go."
New UF women's coach Tammi Reiss at her introductory news conference on March 24. Jade Weathersby was one of two players in the audience that day.
Reiss, the 56-year-old who starred alongside Dawn Staley at Virginia during the early 1990s, has a lot of old school in her. If you're on time, you're late. Yes, ma'am. No, ma'am. Please and thank you. Go to class and sit in the front row (and not underneath a hoodie or behind sunglasses).
The standard will be the standard.
"I think one of the main differences in the coaching staffs, this one is willing to harp on players, but still be able to love us," Weathersby said. "Holding players accountable, not letting anything slide. That's the only way as a program, and as a team, we will get better."
Reiss had a productive one-on-one meeting with Weathersby to start. She sensed the player's intrigue, but also her goals of one day playing professionally.
"Her dreams are my dreams," Reiss said. "She was all in."
That's why Reiss beamed when Weathersby echoed her talking points to a couple recruits at dinner during a recent official visit.
"You could just tell she was grateful for the change, of everybody being on the same level. No special treatment. It made me feel good that she embraced it and articulated it," Reiss said. "And after watching her workouts, I've been impressed. I'm glad I get a chance to coach her this last year. I believe she's a good player."
Jade Weathersby is zeroed in on her final seasons with the Gators.
It was during her initial workouts with the new staff that Weathersby experienced first-hand that things were different. The pace was so ferocious, Weathersby was ready to tap out.
"Not an option," UF assistant coach Cynthia Jordan said. "We're on a mission now and cutting things short is not going to get us where we want to go." Cynthia "CJ" Jordan
Jordan has something in common with Weathersby. She's the only assistant Reiss retained off the previous staff. That Weathersby opted to stay at UF did not surprise her, given the solid family foundation instilled while growing up in Colorado and Georgia. Weathersby originally signed with UAB, where she was a second-team All-American Athletic Conference selection (with career highs of 27 points and 19 rebounds), but after two seasons sought a chance to play in the nation's best league.
"Jade is a worker," Jordan said. "It's her upbringing."
So, she battled through that drill. And others since.
Just like she battled any notion of taking the easy way out and following her teammates into the portal.
"I was out of gas, but they would not let me quit," Weathersby said. "It's the pushing through, they said, that was going to make me better. No taking reps off. No matter how many times I messed up, we were going to get it right."
Ditto with her time in the weight room. Performance coach Jason Traylor reminded Weathersby that when she arrived from UAB last year her conditioning was not where it needed to be and encouraged her to take things to another level this offseason.
"I think she understands a lot more now what it's to going to take to be successful," Traylor said. "She's been very consistent and motivated these last eight weeks."
In July, with the start of the Summer B semester, the '26-27 Gators – and all those fresh faces – will convene for the first time. Reiss will have a captive audience, like she did in March, only this time it'll be in a room full of like-minded competitors with the same goals.
In time, they may just look to Weathersby, the UF veteran, for guidance and leadership.
As the lone survivor/soldier/believer – who even wears No. 1 – hers could be a lasting legacy. One of the first of a new era.
"I'd love to see us hang a '26-27 banner," Weathersby said in a shooting-for-the-stars look to the season. "But honestly, just winning games and doing it with a good culture behind us, that would be very satisfying. Doing it as a team and doing it the right way, that's what really is going to matter."
