When newly-hired Three Rivers College assistant women's basketball coach Jentri Worley was asked what she wanted to accomplish at TRC, her answer was short — but spoke volumes.

“I want to win a national championship,” Worley said.

Worley is the second assistant coach to join the Lady Raiders' bench ahead of the 2024-25 season, as she will coach alongside Tyrie Thomas and head coach Alex Wiggs.

“I am super excited,” Worley said. “This is my first coaching opportunity out of college, so I'm super excited and thankful Coach Wiggs believes in me.”

Wiggs echoes that excitement.

“We're definitely excited to have Jentri as part of the family,” Wiggs said. “She's somebody that the community and area knows really, really well. She won a lot of games in high school, had a successful college career, and is somebody that I think will do a great job for us. She is here to learn and she's excited. … We're definitely excited to have her part of this and to start her next journey.”

Wiggs also likes Worley's youth and how it helps her relate to his players.

“I think the biggest thing is she just graduated (from college), so she's just been on that side of the battlefield last year,” Wiggs said. “So the experience and to be able to relate to the girls from that standpoint (is big). Even though I tell them it hasn't been that long since I played, it's still been 18 years. But her being just a few months (out of school), I think she brings that experience, that knowledge of how things have changed since (then). … That insight to what the kids are going through nowadays and what they're thinking — and then also the experience of just finishing playing college basketball, she can relate to the kids, and bring that energy and that excitement.”

Coming to TRC is a bit of a homecoming for Worley. She was a four-year standout on the hardwood at Neelyville High School, as she helped the Lady Tigers win a state championship in 2018 and also helped the team make a final four appearance in 2016.

During Worley's four years at Neelyville, the Lady Tigers also went undefeated in the Ozark Foothills Conference, won four OFC Tournament titles and won three district titles in a row (2016-18). She also scored more than 2,000 points for the Lady Tigers, is the school's all-time leading scorer and was a McDonald's All-American nominee.

And on top of that, Worley's high school coach, Becky (Winder) Hale, played for TRC in the late 1990s under then-head coach Jack Childress.

“I grew up around here and I'm from here. I went to Neelyville. “Coach Hale played for Coach Jack, so she would always talk to us about Three Rivers and what she learned at Three Rivers. She always wanted us to come to the games and to come play here, if we could. So it means a lot to me that I already have it instilled in what I know.”

Worley signed with Murray State University out of high school, but an injury while at MSU led her to later decide to transfer.

“I was playing pretty well my freshman year,” Worley said. “I was getting good minutes for a freshman at (Division I) and then I hurt my knee, and I had to have a season-ending surgery. And when I got back my sophomore year, it just wasn't really a fit for me anymore. That was already my second knee surgery, so then I decided to transfer, and I went to (Division II), the University of South Carolina-Aiken, in Aiken, South Carolina.”

While at USCA, Worley led the Pacers to a Peach Belt Conference title for the first time in a decade and also was an all-Peach Belt selection in 2022-23. In addition, she also set a school record for free throws and free throw attempts in a game last season.

With Worley and Thomas as assistant coaches, Wiggs enters the upcoming season with some optimism as the team seeks a school-record fifth straight NJCAA Tournament appearance.

“I think we've got two assistant coaches that that understand the game, that know the game and that help make me better,” Wiggs said. “But at the same time they care for the kids and they want the kids to be successful — and we've got a bunch of young ladies that want to be good and want to be successful.”