WSSU is celebrating another major milestone, as Tierra Terry has been named the 2026 Clarence “Big House” Gaines Division II College Basketball Coach of the Year. The honor adds another national layer to a remarkable first season for the Winston-Salem State women’s basketball coach.
Terry, who returned to her alma mater in April 2025 as the 12th head coach in program history, wasted no time making history. In her first season leading the Lady Rams, she guided WSSU to a 28-4 record. They won the 2026 CIAA Women’s Basketball championship for the first time. That led to a trip to the NCAA Division II Women’s Basketball Tournament Round of 16. She was also named CIAA Coach of the Year and finished as a finalist for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association Coach of the Year award.
Tierra Terry adds to a historic WSSU season
For WSSU, Terry’s award is another sign that the program’s 2025-26 campaign was one of the best in school history. The Clarence “Big House” Gaines Award is designed to recognize coaches in NCAA Division I and II who may not always receive the same level of mainstream attention. It also carries special meaning in Winston-Salem, given Gaines’ legendary legacy at the university.
Gaines coached at Winston-Salem State for 47 seasons and won 828 games, including the 1967 NCAA Division II national championship. His list of former players included Earl “The Pearl” Monroe, Cleo Hill, and Stephen A. Smith. He was inducted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1982 and remains one of the defining figures in WSSU athletics history.
That makes Terry’s honor especially fitting. A 2008 WSSU graduate, she played four years for the women’s basketball program before beginning her coaching career. After stops at Western Carolina and William & Mary, Terry spent five seasons as head coach at Virginia Union before returning home to Winston-Salem.
National recognition comes home
The award will be presented on June 29, 2026, during the National Sports Media Association’s 66th awards banquet at Grandover Resort & Spa in Greensboro, North Carolina. Terry joins Miami men’s coach Jai Lucas, who was selected as the Division I winner.
For WSSU, this is more than an individual trophy. It is a reminder that Tierra Terry’s first season did not simply revive a proud program. It placed it firmly on the national stage.