Rhys Pepino begins his second season as an assistant coach with the Sewanee women’s basketball staff in 2025-26. He previously working for head coach Jaylyn Stewart at Eureka College.
In his first season, the Tigers posted a 12-15 record, leading the conference in assists per game, 3-point attempts and 3-pointers made per contest. After starting league play 0-3, the club posted four victories in the next six outings. Sewanee defeated Berry College in the quarterfinals of the SAA Championships, the program’s first-ever win in the conference tournament.
Olivia Falvey garnered Second Team All-SAA honors while Cydney Wright and Hannah Cleveland were both named Honorable Mention. Faith Humphrey was named Academic All-District for the second straight year.
Pepino serves as the recruiting coordinator for the Tigers as well as the program’s primary defensive coach while also managing team travel, helping with in-game preparation and scouting, video and social media, and is extensively involved in player development.
Pepino previously coached at Illinois College in Jacksonville, Ill., serving as a full-time assistant. He handed all recruiting activities for the Blues and implemented long-term and game-specific strategies as serving as the team’s defensive coordinator. The team improved its opponent field goal percentage from 338th to 94th nationally (out of 429 teams), opponent 2-point field goal percentage from 352nd to 79th and opponent assist-to-turnover ratio from 291st to 56th.
Illinois College posted a 15-11 mark, the program’s first 15-win season in 20 years, and finished 10-6 in league play (tied for second), the team’s best conference finish since 1996-97.
Pepino currently serves as head coach of a prominent AAU program in central Illinois, Heart of Illinois, coaching the 16U and 17U Bloomington Girls teams.
The Oswego, Ill., native worked as a video coordinator at SIU Edwardsville for two years as a student assistant, analyzing game film and creating video scouting reports while planning and running youth and elite camps for the Cougars. He also performed graphic design work for the program.
Pepino served as a student assistant coach at Eureka for Stewart for two years, creating game scouting reports, leading and assisting player development and handing all recruiting for the program as well as graphic design and social media duties.
In addition to coaching his AAU team in the summer, Pepino is also a camp lead for Breakthrough Basketball, which provides a variety of resources and information for basketball coaches, trainers, players, parents, and fans. Breakthrough Basketball aims to provide individuals with comprehensive resources about the game of basketball and make a positive impact on players' lives either directly or by educating coaches and parents around the world.
Pepino earned a bachelor’s in Psychology from Eureka College in 2023.
Updated 1/29/2026
