Army West Point Director of Athletics Mike Buddie announced Missy Traversi as the ninth head women’s basketball coach in program history on Monday morning.
“We are excited to welcome Missy Traversi to the West Point women’s basketball family,” said Mike Buddie, Army West Point Director of Athletics. “Her experience both as a player and a coach at all levels made her a standout candidate for this position. She clearly embraces our pillars of Duty, Honor and Country and we can’t wait to watch her lead our women’s basketball cadet-athletes into this new era at West Point.”
Traversi arrives at the banks of the Hudson after a successful five-year stint as the head coach at Adelphi University. She has 13 years of coaching experience ranging across the Division I, Division II, Division III and high school ranks. The Attleboro, Mass. native was a standout Division I player at the University of Maine from 2001-05 and played professionally overseas before beginning her coaching career.
“I am honored to be named the head women’s basketball coach at Army West Point,” said Traversi. “What a privilege it will be to work alongside impressive cadet-athletes as they develop into future officers and leaders in the world. I believe my brand of coaching is tailored to the core values of the type of female athlete that is built for West Point. I will recruit and develop fiercely competitive individuals with high integrity who value team above self.”
“As the world’s preeminent leadership institution, the United States Military Academy embodies sacrifice, discipline, and excellence. I am proud to be associated with this special team and am eager to hit the ground running,” added Traversi.
At Adelphi, she coached the Panthers to an 83-37 (.692) overall record, two NE10 Southwest Division regular-season championships, an NE10 Tournament Championship in 2017, and two NCAA Division II Tournament berths. Traversi recruited and coached 10 NE10 All-Conference and two WBCA All-America selections.
In 2019-20, Traversi guided Adelphi to a historic season that consisted of a 27-3 overall record on her way to capturing All-Met Division II Coach of the Year honors. Winners of the NE10 Southwest Division regular-season championship, the Panthers were selected as the East Region’s top seed in the 2020 NCAA Division II Tournament before the COVID-19 pandemic canceled the tournament before it began. Adelphi finished the season ranked No. 8 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Poll.
In just her first season at the helm of the Adelphi program in 2016-17, Traversi coached the Panthers to a 27-5 overall record and only the second NE10 Tournament title in the program’s history, resulting in Adelphi being tabbed as the top overall seed in the NCAA Division II East Region Tournament.
“For the past five years, it has been my distinct privilege to be the head women’s basketball coach at Adelphi University,” said Traversi. “I want to personally thank President Riordan and Athletic Director, Danny McCabe for giving me the opportunity to coach such remarkable young women at Adelphi University. I will forever cherish the staff and faculty I’ve worked with, the student-athletes I’ve coached, and the memories created along the way. As I transition into this exciting new chapter of my life, I want to express gratitude for all those who supported me on my journey.”
Before her appointment at Adelphi, she spent two seasons as the head coach at Wheelock College in Boston. In only two years, she completely rebuilt the program, leading Wheelock to the most wins in a single season in the program’s history in consecutive years, including the first winning season (18-7) in the school’s history in 2015-16.
Prior to her time at Wheelock, she spent three years as the head girls’ basketball coach at Attleboro High School (2011-14), one year as an assistant coach in the Ivy League at Harvard University (2010-11), and two years as the head girls’ basketball coach at Dover-Sherborn High School (2008-10). Traversi was the Tri-Valley League Coach of the Year in 2008-09 at Dover-Sherborn and was a two-time Sun Chronicle Coach of the Year at Attleboro.
During her playing career at Maine, Traversi helped lead the Black Bears to an 86-35 (.711) and 58-10 (.853) America East record, three America East regular-season championships, one America East Tournament Championship, and three postseason berths, including one NCAA Tournament appearance. A 2004-05 First-Team All-Conference selection, Traversi scored 1,130 points in her career, which ranks 17th in program history.
She then continued her playing career overseas, where she averaged 23.5 points per game for Brahe Basket in Sweden during the 2005-06 season, before returning to the country as a player and assistant coach for Jamtland Basket in 2007-08. Traversi was also an invitee to the WNBA’s Chicago Sky training camp in 2006.
Prior to arriving at Adelphi, Traversi owned and operated MT Elite Basketball Training. Founding the organization in 2006, she managed and recruited players for the MT Elite AAU basketball program, which consisted of 12 teams and over 300 athletes. She also led a team of 12 coaches and ran summer basketball camps throughout Massachusetts.
A graduate of Bishop Feehan High School in Attleboro, Mass., Traversi was a 2014 inductee into the school’s Hall of Fame. She earned her bachelor’s degree in communications with a minor in public relations from Maine in 2005 and a master’s degree in athletic administration from Ohio University in 2013.
The Traversi File
Coaching History
Adelphi University – Head Coach (2016-2021)
Wheelock College – Head Coach (2014-2016)
Attleboro High School – Head Coach (2011-2014)
Harvard University – Assistant Coach (2010-11)
Dover-Sherborn High School – Head Coach (2008-2010)
Playing Experience
Professional Player, Sweden – 2005-08
University of Maine – 2001-05
Education
M.S. Athletic Administration – Ohio University (2013)
B.A. Communications – University of Maine (2005)
