Sam Mancinelli enters her fourth season with the Tufts University Women’s Basketball program in 2025–26, serving as Associate Head Coach and Recruiting Coordinator for the Jumbos.
 
Following her third season on staff, Mancinelli was recognized as a WBCA Thirty Under 30 Honoree, an award that highlights 30 rising women’s basketball coaches under the age of 30 who demonstrate excellence in leadership, community service, mentorship, and professional involvement.
 
In her first season with the Jumbos, Mancinelli helped lead the team to its fourth NESCAC Championship and an Elite Eight appearance in the 2022–23 NCAA Tournament. Over her three seasons, Tufts has compiled an overall coaching record of 35–20 (.636), including an NCAA Tournament berth in 2024–25.
 
Mancinelli specializes in guard development and has coached three All-NESCAC honorees, including NESCAC Rookie of the Year Monet Witherspoon and NESCAC Player of the Year Maggie Russell.
 
In May 2023, Mancinelli completed the NCAA Women Coaches Academy (WCA) in Denver, Colorado. The program is designed to enhance leadership and coaching skills for women in sports, providing opportunities to build professional relationships and strengthen coaching effectiveness.
 
In addition to her role at Tufts, Mancinelli serves as Co-Director of the Select Hoops AAU Program based in Norwood, Massachusetts, where she coaches both middle and high school teams across the South Shore.
 
Prior to joining the Tufts staff, Mancinelli was a standout student-athlete at Roger Williams University, where she was a three-year captain and point guard. She led the Hawks to their first-ever Commonwealth Coast Conference (CCC) Championship in 2022, averaging 8.1 points and 4.4 assists per game, ranking third nationally in assist-to-turnover ratio. Mancinelli earned All-Conference honors and was named CCC Scholar-Athlete of the Year for the 2021–22 season. She graduated summa cum laude in 2021 with a bachelor’s degree in Criminal Justice and earned her master’s degree in Criminal Justice in 2022.
 
A native of Peabody, Massachusetts, Mancinelli is a graduate of Bishop Fenwick High School, where she helped lead her team to a state championship in 2016.