University of Washington head women’s basketball coach Jody Wynn announced changes to her coaching staff on Tuesday, hiring Tamara McDonald as assistant coach and elevating assistant Paul Reed to Recruiting Coordinator.
McDonald joins the coaching staff to replace UW alum Michelle Augustavo-Fisher, who left her role to focus on her family. McDonald was a former standout player at Pepperdine from 1999-2003 while Jody and Derek Wynn were assistant coaches. She was a three-time All-West Coast Conference (WCC) selection, and in 2003 took home WCC “Player of the Year” honors.
“Tamara is a great addition to our staff, and we are excited to welcome her to the Husky family!” said Wynn. “She is a proven winner, leading our Pepperdine teams to four post-season appearances, including three NCAA Tournament berths. She was a standout all-conference guard and WCC Player of the Year and an incredible team leader both on and off the court. Tamara has a relentless work ethic, excels at player development and at her ability to build meaningful relationships. She is a proven teacher and has a myriad of experiences as a head coach, assistant coach, and working in corporate America that will serve our program very well.”
McDonald has 10 years of collegiate coaching experience, serving as an assistant coach at Cal Poly Pomona for five seasons followed by five years as the Head Coach at Citrus College. She has spent the last five year in the corporate world, serving as the Chief of Administration for the California Labor Commissioner’s Office.
“I would like to thank Jody Wynn and the entire UW Athletics family for entrusting me to work closely with an amazing group of young women,” said McDonald. “As a former educator and player, I am excited to work for a prestigious academic institution with a rich tradition in athletic achievements. I am honored to be chosen as an assistant coach, and will use my role to support, mentor, encourage and inspire each of these young ladies as they pursue their personal best both on and off the court.”
Reed is entering his seventh season coaching under Wynn including the last three at UW where he has been an integral part of the Huskies steady improvement since 2017-18. Reed has been involved in player development and coaching on both the collegiate and high school levels for 15 years.
“We’ve been very pleased with the job Paul has done in our program,” said Wynn. “His work ethic, along with the ability to evaluate and develop relationships with highly talented student-athletes, made it easy to give him the recruiting coordinator title. He is making his mark as one of the top assistant coaches and recruiters in our game, while embodying the UW intercollegiate athletics core values of grit, humility, growth mindset and servant leadership.”
