Director of Athletics Jason Carmichael has selected Joanna Reitz, a seasoned coach with experience in Division I play, has been announced to serve as head coach for the University of West Georgia women's basketball program, announced on Tuesday. Reitz comes to UWG following a distinguished career as an assistant coach, spending nearly 15 years in the southeast, including stops at GSC rival Shorter and Division I Mercer, before landing at her most recent position at Division I Utah in 2017. 

Reitz comes to Carrollton after serving for five seasons as an assistant coach at the University of Utah, becoming the 12th head coach at the University of West Georgia in the history of the program on April 12, 2022. 

Reitz ventured to the "City of Dreams" after spending five seasons at Utah following previous coaching stints at USC-Aiken (assistant coach – 2015-17), Mercer (assistant coach – 2013-15), Shorter (assistant coach – 2011-13) and as the Director of Recruiting Operations at Florida State (2010-11). She spent three additional seasons with the Seminoles as a graduate assistant from 2007-2010. 

While at Utah, Reitz had significant responsibilities in the area of player development, recruiting, scouting, and game planning. In addition, she was an academic liaison for the Utes and played a role in booster, campus, and community relations. As a recruiter, she helped recruit and sign back-to-back top-25 recruiting classes in 2019 and 2020. In her time at Utah, Reitz recruited two Pac-12 Freshmen of the Year, six Gatorade Players of the Year, and six All-Conference selections. In her final season in Salt Lake City, she guided the Utes to a pair of upsets in the Pac-12 conference tournament as Utah made their first-ever appearance in the Pac-12 Championship game. 

At USC-Aiken, she was involved with all aspects of the program, helping the Pacers to improve by four wins in 2016-17, going from six Peach Belt Conference wins in the 2015-16 season to 10 conference wins in 2016-17. Retiz also recruited and signed Kwajelin Farrar, the 2017 PBC Freshman of the Year. 

Prior to her stint in Aiken, Reitz was an assistant coach at Mercer University in Macon, where she recruited three of the most successful players in the Bears' history. She recruited and signed three players who were named as the SoCon Player of the Year for four consecutive years. That includes Kahlia Lawrence, who was the 2015 Southern Confernece Freshman of the Year, then was named the Southern Conference Player of the Year in 2016, 2017, and 2018. In 2018, she became the highest draft pick in SoCon women's basketball history as the 24th overall pick in the WNBA draft. 

Before Mercer, Reitz spent two seasons on the bench as an assistant coach at a Gulf South Conference member institution, helping the Shorter Hawks to a 28-7 record in 2011-12. She helped guide the Hawks to transition from NAIA Division I to NCAA Division II, and as defensive coordinator in 2011-12, Shorter was the top defensive team in NAIA Division I, allowing just 31.6 percent shooting on the year. She also recruited Taylor Adams to Rome and Adams eventually became a First Team All-GSC performer and a WBCA All-American. 

Following a successful playing career at Covenant College, Reitz became a graduate assistant at Florida State, where she helped with recruiting, camps, player care, and scout team oversight for the back-to-back ACC Regular Season Champions, making a trip to the NCAA Elite Eight in 2010. In 2010-11, she was elevated to the Director of Recruiting Operations, handling recruiting coordination, game scheduling, camp direction, and booster/alumni liaison. 

She played college hoops at Covenant College from 2002-06 where she was a four-year starter, three-time team captain, and three-time all-academic selection. She was named to the All-Conference team in 2006. She was a 1,000-point scorer at Covenant, finishing her career with 1,557 points, which is ninth all-time as of 2022. She made 146 three-pointers in her career and is eighth all-time at Covenant with 584 field goals made. 

Reitz graduated with a degree in natural science in 2006 and went on to receive master's degrees in physical education and business administration from Florida State.