CHARLESTON - Charleston Southern women's basketball head coach Tim Hays has announced the hiring of Sirena "Pnut" Tuitele as an assistant coach.

Tuitele is the first addition to Coach Hays' staff at CSU.

"I am very excited to add Pnut Tuitele to our staff here at CSU," said Coach Hays. "She is everything that our culture is about… a servant leader that pours into our student-athletes both on and off the court. She is incredibly hard working and committed to doing what it takes to build an elite program. She is a loyal, family-oriented person who will represent our culture incredibly well here at Charleston Southern." 

Pnut (pronounced 'peanut') Tuitele joins the CSU staff after spending the 2025-26 season as an assistant coach with Coach Hays at Louisiana State University Shreveport.

At LSUS, Tuitele helped guide the Pilots to a 28-5 overall record along with RRAC Regular Season and Conference Tournament Championships. She assisted in coaching four All-Conference selections, including the conference's Player of the Year, Defensive Player of the Year, and an All-American honoree.

In her role with the Pilots, Tuitele contributed to personnel scouting reports, individual player development sessions, strength and conditioning programming, and recruiting efforts focused on junior college prospects and the transfer portal. She also coordinated team operations, including scheduling player workouts and serving as the program's academic liaison.

Prior to entering the coaching ranks, Tuitele built an accomplished professional playing career overseas. She competed for Vimpelin Veto in Finland's Korisliiga, the Joondalup Wolves in Australia's NBL1, and Fustecma Nou Basquet Castello in Spain's LF Challenge.

During her time overseas, Tuitele also volunteered as a coach in each country while gaining experience working with players and coaching staffs across multiple basketball systems and cultures.

A native of Chico, California, Tuitele starred collegiately at both the University of Colorado and University of California at Berkeley. At Colorado, she earned Pac-12 All-Freshman honorable mention recognition in 2018-19 and was later named to the 2021 WNIT All-Memphis Region Team. She was also a two-time recipient of the Ceal Barry Pride Award and served as a team captain twice during her career with the Buffaloes.

Following four seasons at Colorado, Tuitele concluded her collegiate career at Cal during the 2022-23 season while pursuing graduate studies.

In addition to her playing and coaching experience, Tuitele was selected to participate in the Women's Basketball Coaches Association's prestigious "So You Want To Be A Coach" program in 2023. The professional development initiative is designed to prepare female student-athletes for careers in coaching through leadership training, networking, and mentorship opportunities.

"I'm incredibly grateful and excited to join the Charleston Southern Women's Basketball program," said Tuitele. "This is a special opportunity to be part of a culture built on faith, family, and competitive excellence. I'm ready to get to work, build meaningful relationships with our student-athletes, and help elevate this program to new heights with Coach Hays. Go Bucs!"

Tuitele earned her bachelor's degree in psychology from Colorado in 2023 before completing her master's degree in Cultural Studies and Sport at California in 2024.

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