Two-time Big Sky Champ Wortham returns to Montana

When Rachi Wortham left Montana in 2019, the Grizzlies were coming off a 26-win season and back-to-back Big Sky Championships. He will make his return in 2025-26 with Montana coming of a 25-win championship season.

The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Wortham will rejoin head coach Travis DeCuire's for the upcoming season after serving as the head coach at Tacoma Community College for the previous five seasons.

"I'm excited, really excited. I'm coming with some familiarity," Wortham said. "I know the staff really well and I trust them and talk to them beyond basketball and so, people always say family, this is an opportunity to really be with family that cares about me and cares about my development."

In his first stint in Missoula, Wortham helped guide Montana to two NCAA Tournament appearances in 2018 and 2019. The Grizzlies had 52 total wins across those two seasons, the most in a two-year span in program history.

Montana had a combined record of 58-33 (.637) with Wortham on staff. He coached the Grizzlies at a time when many of the program's all-time best players were on the floor together for several years.

"When we had our best teams, our chemistry and cohesiveness has always been really tight," DeCuire said. "Our teams have been tough, physical, athletic, and our coaching staff fit with those groups really well. That 2016-19 group we didn't have a lot of turnover and we really became a close knit family. We had a little of that last year. As assistants moved on, I wanted to get back to that and that's where Rachi came in."

Wortham's basketball journey has always been intertwined with DeCuire's. They met back in the mid '90s with DeCuire coaching Wortham's AAU team. They reconnected at Montana in 2016, and now get another chance to work together.

It's a partnership that has led to a lot of success over the years.

"I've won a championship every time I've ever been involved with him," DeCuire said. "I coached him as a 14-year old on an AAU basketball team, we won a national tournament. I watched his high school team, a majority of which were guys from my AAU team, win a State Championship in a state that Tacoma teams typically don't win. He comes here, and we had been close up to that point, but he helped us get over the hump in a lot of ways. We've missed him, and I'm happy to have him back."

Wortham returns with a lot more experience than he had back in 2019. He led Tacoma Community College for four full seasons, compiling a 68-46 (.596) record in that time.

He also has experience prior to his UM days as an assistant with Eastern Washington and the Director of Player Personnel at Oregon State. He's been at every level and now returns to Montana with an idea of what things are like as the head man.

"I have a different perspective now. There is so much more pressure on your shoulders when you're the head coach," Wortham said. "All of us assistant coaches have ideas, I'm a guy who has ideas, so being able to have a different perspective especially during practices and games will be good for me."

Wortham said that the fans and community of Missoula are a big part of the reason that he's excited to return. Growing up in Tacoma, players like Travis helped inspire Wortham as a child. He knows that Griz basketball players and staff have a chance to do the same thing with the community of Missoula, and he's excited to do his part to give back.

"I always tell people that the fans are amazing at Montana. It's not fake," Wortham said. "You come to a basketball game or a football game, you see the amazing fans. The players are good people and when you bring good people around I get excited about that. When you combine good people and talent, you are going to have pretty good success."

On the floor, Wortham's success speaks for itself. He was an assistant during the best two-year stretch in program history and is no stranger to the Big Dance. His familiarity with DeCuire's approach should make this a seamless fit.

"As someone who played for me and has worked for me, he understands what kind of players I'm looking for and what I mean when I say things," DeCuire said. "He has thick skin so he can work in my madness and perform and, at the end of the day loyalty is everything, and he's one of the most loyal people I've ever been around."

The Grizzlies will return six players from last year's championship team and made some big additions in the transfer portal to put themselves in a good position to repeat. They bring back the Big Sky's Top Reserve Money Williams, who spent the summer working out with NBA teams to gauge his draft stock.

Montana is looking to win back-to-back Big Sky titles for the fifth time in program history. Wortham knows what it takes to do that having been on staff the last time the Grizzlies accomplished it in 2018 and 2019.

"They did a great job assembling this team. There is a lot of talent on this team but with talent, you have to have some structure," Wortham said. "Travis is really good at putting structure together so I'm excited to play my role, whatever that piece is, to help this team win."

University of Montana Athletics

Players Mentioned

Money Williams

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