Morgan Roche enters her third year in Loudonville on staff with Jim Jabir as Director of Women's Basketball Operations. She made her way to Siena after spending six years at Vanderbilt University where she served as Assistant Director of Student Services.
After aiding the Saints to their first MAAC Opening Round bye in five seasons during his first campaign back with the team in 2021-22, Roche helped guide one of the youngest teams in the nation in 2022-23 to a fourth place regular season finish and both the program's first winning record and MAAC Semifinal appearance since 2018. Siena boasted an 11-5 home record and a nine-win improvement while garnering five MAAC postseason honors - including Elisa Mevius winning MAAC Rookie of the Year honors. The team led the league in scoring offense and saw Mevius and classmate Teresa Seppala claim a combined 12 MAAC weekly honors - including Mevius becoming the first player in conference history to take home Player and Rookie of the Week honors on the same day. Siena ended the year with three players in double-figure scoring, six averaging seven points per-game or greater, and eight averaging more than 20 minutes per-game.
Roche also oversaw the team's community service efforts during the 2022-23 season, which culminated with the program earning Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser award from the Association of Fundraising Professionals in November 22 for its efforts surrounding the 21st annual Pink Zone game and taking home the 2022-23 S.A.IN.T.S. Cup for its community service efforts within Siena Athletics.
In her position at Vanderbilt, Roche was in charge of the student services for the Men’s Basketball, Women’s Cross Country, Track & Field, and Women’s Tennis teams. She helped the Men’s Basketball team to a program-high eight student-athletes on the 2021 SEC Academic Honor Roll. In the spring of 2020, she also helped the team to a new program-high semester term of a 3.4 GPA.
Prior to her time in Nashville, Roche spent a year at Clemson University as an Athletic Academic Services Intern where she provided academic support for Women’s Tennis, Women’s Golf, and Women’s Rowing. She also managed the Tigers’ Mentor Program, which helped student athletes make a smooth transition from high school to college.
An accomplished student-athlete in her own right, Roche is a graduate of Quinnipiac University where she ran Cross Country and Track. She would go onto win multiple conference championships both as a team and individually in the Northeast Conference. Off the course and track, she was named Quinnipiac Junior of the Year, a leadership award given to a handful of students in the junior class by the university.
No stranger to the capital region and Siena, Roche is a native of Clifton Park and attended Shenendehowa High School where she played soccer, basketball, and ran cross country and track. Roche also served as a volunteer coach for Siena’s cross country program in the fall of 2014.
