Cheryl Reeve’s coaching career certainly has come a long way since her days on the Indiana State Sycamore sidelines.
Reeve — who served as ISU women’s basketball head coach from 1995-96 until early in the 2000-01 season — has coached the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx for 16 seasons. She’s won four WNBA championships as the Lynx head coach and served as an assistant on the Detroit Shock’s 2006 and 2008 title teams.
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Now, the 59-year-old Reeve is headed to the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame, which is located in a hotbed of the sport, Knoxville, Tenn.
On Thursday, the Hall announced Reeve is among its Class of 2026 inductees, along with standout players Elena Delle Donne of Delaware and the Chicago Sky, Candace Parker of the University of Tennessee and WNBA clubs, and international stars Isabelle Fijalkowski and Amaya Valdemoro.
Among the coach inductees are Reeve and Kim Muhl, who’s guided Kirkwood Community College for 36 seasons. Also, ESPN analyst and playing great Doris Burke, and the late Barbara Kennedy-Dixon will be inducted.
The ceremony is scheduled for July 27, 2026 in Knoxville’s Tennessee Theatre.
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Reeve’s head-coaching career began at ISU at age 29, after she had stints as an assistant at LaSalle and George Washington. She coached the Sycamores to gradually improved records of 7-19, 14-13, 17-11 and 18-11, then slipped to 9-18. ISU started the 2000-01 season 1-3, and Reeve then abruptly resigned after an overtime loss at Eastern Illinois. Her assistant Jim Wiedie took over and steered the team to a 9-18 finish, and later compiled a program record 166 wins as head coach.
Reeve’s 1998-99 Sycamores — powered by standouts Amy Amstutz and Cristalle Shelton — earned a WNIT bid, the program’s first postseason berth in two decades.
Her final ISU coaching record, officially 66-77, ranks her fourth in program history with a .462 winning percentage.
After leaving ISU, Reeve quickly returned to coaching, in the pro ranks, though, as a Chicago Sting assistant. Her path to head coaching, again, was set.
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At Minnesota, her Lynx’s four WNBA titles are tied for the most in league history.
Her Lynx teams have compiled 364 regular-season wins and 52 postseason victories. Thus, she’s the all-time winningest coach in WNBA history in those two categories. And, she has the highest postseason winning percentage in league history at .626. In Minnesota, she’s coach two WNBA MVPs, Sylvia Fowles and Maya Moore.
Reeve also served as head coach of the USA Basketball Women’s National Team from 2021-2024, with her Team USA winning the gold medal at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
