When Maddy Siegrist graduated from Villanova in 2023, the Wildcats had to transition to a new era without their star player on the court.
In her illustrious five years (including one redshirt year) with the program, Siegrist scored a total of 2,896 points as the Big East’s all-time leading scorer. She led the Wildcats through a historic Sweet 16 run before starting her WNBA career with the Dallas Wings
But Siegrist wasn’t finished with Villanova just yet. She has continued to contribute to the program in the WNBA off-season and is helping guide the next generation of Wildcats.
“I had a great experience [playing at Villanova] and I had so many great people to lean on and be resources for me,” Siegrist said. “I want to be that for the players now.”
She returned to Villanova last October with a newly created role as Special Assistant to former Senior Women’s Administrator Lynn Tighe. Siegrist’s duties involved the promotion, branding and marketing of Villanova women’s basketball.
For the 2024–25 season, Siegrist is stepping into a different role centered on player development. So far, Siegrist says she has been enjoying the more “hands-on” aspects of her new position with the team.
“[I hope] just to be a resource and be an asset the best I can,” Siegrist said. “Whether that’s sharing from my own experience or trying to see the game in a different lens.”
With only four of Siegrist’s former teammates on the current roster, an important part of her role will be ushering in head coach Denise Dillon’s new group of Wildcats.
Siegrist understands that the landscape of college sports has transformed since she first came to Villanova in 2018. The watershed moment of the emergence of NIL in 2021 coincided with Siegrist’s Villanova career.
“Luckily, I caught the first two years of [NIL], which was great and gave me a lot of opportunities to make money in college,” Siegrist said. “[College basketball] becomes more of a business when you have it, but I think I had the best of both worlds in terms of being the last of one generation and the first of another.”
Siegrist also believes she made her WNBA debut “at a perfect time,” alongside the rapid rise in the popularity of women’s college basketball in recent years.
Although she reached legendary status at Villanova and in the NCAA, Siegrist went back to being a rookie in Dallas. In her second season with the Wings, she averaged 9.4 points and 3.3 rebounds in 23.8 minutes per game.
“It’s all built on the players before, but it’s so exciting to be part of this new wave and see women’s sports get the attention that I think it deserves,” Siegrist said.
Apart from stints with USA Basketball and Athletes Unlimited, Siegrist plans to stay close to Villanova until she returns to Dallas in April.
