Tori Faieta joined the Suffolk Athletics Department as a Graduate Assistant in January 2018. In that role she will coordinate equipment and transportation for the Rams’ 19 varsity sports, while working on Ed Leyden’s women’s basketball coaching staff as assistant coach. Faieta begins her second season on Leyden’s staff in 2018-19. 

With Faieta on the bench, Suffolk had a record-setting season with a GNAC championship appearance, after the program’s second-ever win over Emmanuel in the semifinals all thanks to matching the record of conference victories in a regular season (12-4), which sent the Rams to their 23rd consecutive league postseason. 

The Rams success was thanks in large part to individual standouts including GNAC Rookie of the Year Jenni-Rose DiCecco, who also represented the Rams on the NEWBA All-Rookie Team. Georgia Bourikas, who became the 10th Suffolk women’s basketball player to eclipse both 1,000 points and 500 rebounds, earned a spot on the all-league second team and was the first-ever Ram to be selected to play in the NEWBA All-Star Classic. Alexis Hackett completed the trifecta of all-conference honorees with a spot on the third team. 

Faieta brings a wealth of knowledge to Leyden’s staff, coming off a stint as a member of the WBBL Leicester Riders Basketball Team, a part of Britain’s professional league. The center traveled with the club across England, Sweden and China. 

The Lynn, Massachusetts, product put together a standout four-year career at Stonehill from 2011-15. The power forward laced up in 113 games for the Skyhawks, appearing in the starting five 103 times. Faieta secured her spot in Stonehill’s record books as the 27th player in program history to reach the 1,000-point milestone and sealed up her four-year career with 1,402 career points. As a senior she averaged a double-double with 15.4 ppg and 10.4 rpg to lead the Skyhawks to a 24-5 season and a NCAA Division II East Regional Championship appearance. For her efforts, she brought home multiple accolades her senior season highlighted by WBCA Division II Coaches’ All-America status to go along with Daktronics All-East Region second-team honors and a unanimous selection All-Northeast-10 first-team selection. Stonehill named her Athlete of the Year in 2014-15 as well as Student-Athlete Leadership Award recipient. 

After Faieta earned her Bachelors of Arts in Graphic Design from Stonehill in May 2015, she represented the United States and the deaf community as a member of the 2015 Deaf Olympic team hosted in Taiwan. She led USA to the gold medal and helped qualify the red, white and blue for the 2017 Deaf Olympics. 

Faieta began her coaching career at her high school alma mater St. Mary’s of Lynn in November 2016. She promoted a philosophy of good sportsmanship cooperation, responsibility and accountability. 

Off the court, she was also a graphic design intern at St. Mary’s in the summer of 2014, where she was responsible for updating and maintaining the school’s webpage. She spearheaded the school’s ALS Bucket Challenge.