After spending the last two years playing for the Saint Louis University women’s basketball team, fourth-year guard Brooklyn Gray decided she wanted something different for the final season of her collegiate career and entered the transfer portal.
Gray is from Rockford, Illinois, and began her collegiate basketball career at Wabash Valley College. Wabash is a two-year community college and competes at the National Junior College Athletic Association level. In her first year, Gray made the NJCAA Division I National All-Tournament Team and the Honorable Mention All-American Team.
From there, Gray made the jump to the NCAA Division I level. She spent two seasons with the Billikens and was their leading scorer in the 2024-2025 season with 12.2 points per game. Gray then committed to the University of Rhode Island for the 2025-2026 season after entering the transfer portal.
Saint Louis finished 7-11 last year in Atlantic 10 play, while Rhode Island finished 11-7. However, URI lost some key players from last season’s roster to the transfer portal. But URI Head Coach Tammi Reiss said she knew exactly who she wanted to bring in as a replacement.
However, Gray didn’t have her sights set on URI when she first entered the portal and was looking to go elsewhere.
“I actually didn’t intend on staying in the A-10,” Gray said. “But I talked to [Tammi Reiss], and we had a great conversation. I came on my visit, I really enjoyed it and decided to come here.”
Reiss said that Gray was her biggest target from the transfer portal, and Name, Image, Likeness agreements helped put Gray in the Keaney blue and white.
“I went full throttle with this one,” Reiss said. “This was the one we had to get… and having a little NIL doesn’t hurt. The previous year, we didn’t have any NIL; none, not a dime. This was the first time we had NIL, and it made a difference; we wouldn’t have gotten her without NIL.”
Going all in on Gray has proven to be a good decision by Reiss so far. Gray is averaging 13.2 points per game so far this season, along with 5.1 rebounds and 3.1 assists. Rhode Island is currently 9-2 on the season, including a win over No. 16 North Carolina State University.
The Rams are looking to get back to the A-10 Championship game after losing to the University of Richmond in 2024. URI has never won the A-10 Championship in program history, but Reiss thinks that this year’s team has a real chance.
“Last year we couldn’t shoot, we couldn’t pass,” Reiss said. “Offensively we were very limited, so we went out and got players that could spread the floor, shoot it and that could go make plays and get a bucket.”
Last year, URI averaged 60.2 points per game. This year, the Rams are averaging 70 points per game, and three Rams, including Gray, are averaging double figures. First-year guard Vanessa Harris is averaging 12.5 points per game, and second-year forward Palmire Mbu is averaging 14.3 points per game.
This Rhode Island team is a bit of a melting pot, with eight players born outside of the United States and six born in France. While that’s been an adjustment for Gray, she’s embraced it and has been using it as an opportunity to grow both on and off the court.
“It’s different in a good way,” Gray said. “It’s different, but we all find ways to get along with each other and find ways to learn from each other. One thing that really makes our team so good is that we’re so different.”
Gray wants to continue with basketball beyond college and make it to the professional level, something that Reiss promised she could help her with if she decided to play for her.
“I told [Gray], ‘I’m going to hold you to a standard of if you want to be a pro, you can’t stay where you’re at; you’ve got to grow,’” Reiss said. “When you go overseas and play in France or Italy or wherever you are… You don’t want to adjust then; you want to have already become a pro.”
Gray and the rest of the Rams are back in action against Wagner College on Dec. 19. The game will stream on ESPN+, with radio broadcasts available on The Varsity Network and RIU2.org.
