Traversi named new head coach of Army women's basketball.

Former Bishop Feehan star Missy Traversi takes the reins at Army.

Missy Traversi is moving up another rung on the NCAA women’s basketball coaching ladder.

The former Bishop Feehan High School three-sport standout has been named the head coach of the women’s basketball team at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., bringing her into the NCAA Division 1 coaching ranks after four seasons and five years at Division II Adelphi University in Garden City, N.Y.

Traversi, 38, was announced as Army’s new head coach via a news release Monday. She will succeed Dave Magarity, 71, who retired after serving as Army’s head coach for the past 15 years and coaching in the college ranks for 47 years.

"We are excited to welcome Missy Traversi to the West Point women's basketball family," said Army athletic director Mike Buddie in the news release. "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."

"I am honored to be named the head women's basketball coach at Army West Point," Traversi said in the release. "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," she added.

Traversi on the sidelines at Adelphi University.

Traversi, the former girls’ basketball head coach at Attleboro High School and two-time Sun Chronicle coach of the year, turned Adelphi University’s program into a consistent winner over her four seasons at the helm. Her Panthers were 83-37 on her watch, winning two Northeast-10 Conference divisional titles and qualifying for the NCAA Division II Tournament twice. She also had the additional responsibilities as assistant athletic director at Adelphi.

Her 2019-20 team finished the regular season and conference tournament at 27-3, ranked as high as No. 8 in the WBCA Division II Top 25 Poll. Adelphi had earned the No. 1 seed in the NCAA Division II regionals when the outbreak of COVID-19 prompted the NCAA to cancel all of its postseason tournaments on short notice.

The ongoing pandemic also forced Adelphi and the rest of the NE-10 to cancel the entire 2020-21 season just days before it was to begin.

Traversi also brought three local athletes into the fold at Adelphi. Bishop Feehan’s Emily Miccile and Attleboro’s Julia Strachan were major contributors to the Panthers’ success in 2019-20, and former Attleboro High standout Sarah Deyo was to have joined Adelphi for the canceled 2020-21 season after transferring from Southern New Hampshire University.

Prior to taking the Adelphi job in 2016, Traversi spent two seasons as the head coach at Division III Wheelock College in Boston. The Attleboro native completely rebuilt the program during that span, leading Wheelock to the most wins in a single season in the program's history in consecutive years, including the first winning season in the school's history in 2015-16 (18-7).

Traversi coaching at Attleboro High.

Traversi was also the driving force in turning around the fortunes of the Attleboro High School girls’ basketball team during her three seasons at the helm. She was 33-36 in three seasons but 29-18 in her last two, earning Sun Chronicle coach of the year honors in 2013 and 2014.

Prior to her tenure at AHS, Traversi spend one season on the coaching staff at Harvard University under legendary coach Kathy Delaney-Smith. She was also head girls’ coach at Dover-Sherborn Regional High (where she was named Tri-Valley League coach of the year in 2009) and at Brookline High School between her two stints in professional basketball overseas.

Traversi, who competed in swimming, basketball and tennis at Bishop Feehan, finished with 1,113 career points in three seasons. She went on to play Division 1 basketball at the University of Maine under coach Sharon Versyp, helping to lead the Black Bears to an 86-35 overall record, 58-10 in America East, as well as 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 over 1,000 points in her career at Maine.

Traversi at her WNBA tryout.

She 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 training camp of the WNBA's Chicago Sky in 2006.

Traversi also helped mold the futures of some of the area’s top female basketball players through her owned-and-operated MT Elite Basketball Training company. 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.

Traversi was a 2014 inductee into Bishop Feehan High 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, and briefly served as an assistant athletic director at Needham High School.

"For the past five years, it has been my distinct privilege to be the head women's basketball coach at Adelphi University," Traversi said in the release. "I want to personally thank President (Christine) 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."

Magarity was an assistant on the Army coaching staff in 2006 when head coach Maggie Dixon died suddenly of arrhythmia. He went on to post a 266-183 record, the Black Knights having earned four postseason berths with a pair of NCAA Tournament and WNIT appearances under his direction.

Magarity also became the first coach in NCAA history to coach against his own daughter, when Army faced Holy Cross in Patriot League competition. Maggie Magarity, in her first season at Holy Cross after a stint at the University of New Hampshire, defeated her father in three of the four games played between the teams this year.