Former Villanova star Maddy Siegrist has not forgotten her roots

Some people choose their favorite number based on the day they were born. Others have a number they seek out on a fortune cookie, and many people choose their favorite number based on an athlete they look up to.

But every young female athlete who walks through Maddy Siegrist’s high school gym at Our Lady of Lourdes in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., will have one particular number to inspire her.

No. 20, the jersey number that Siegrist has worn throughout her basketball career, was retired at Lourdes on Jan. 5.

Since those high school years, Siegrist has made herself a household name in the NCAA at Villanova. She was picked third overall by the Dallas Wings in the WNBA draft in April.

In her rookie season with the Wings, Siegrist appeared in 39 games, averaging 8.2 minutes and 3.7 points. The Wings reached the WNBA semifinals, where they lost to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.

“I’m so grateful for the opportunity to have been on such a successful team,” Siegrist said. “But the transition is definitely a little tough. It definitely takes you a few games to adjust to the speed, the players … and going from Villanova, where [I was] so secure and everything is so comfortable, to the other side of the country by yourself is … different.”

And while moving is normal for a professional athlete, moving 1,605 miles from home is more than just an adjustment for a 23-year-old.

“Majority of the time, you’re by yourself,” Siegrist said. “I have to figure out what I’m going to do, what I’m going to eat. …College is so structured, but in the WNBA, you end practice at 2 o’clock most days, so what are you going to do from 2 to 11?”

But even with all of the transitions into the professional world, and with the status of a pro athlete, Siegrist has made sure to stick to her Poughkeepsie roots.

“Every time [I] go home, it feels like nothing’s changed,” Siegrist said. “They still see me as the same. Same player, the same kid I was when I was at Lourdes.”

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And Siegrist’s home still sees her the same way, too.

“She’s a great kid, a really wonderful person,” her coach at Lourdes, Al Viani, said. “I have three daughters, and she’s the type of kid that I would be so proud of to say, ‘That’s my daughter.’ She’s just that kind of kid.”

During her time at Lourdes, Siegrist played four years of varsity basketball, earning the Poughkeepsie Journal’s player of the year award in 2017 and 2018 and averaging 32.7 points during her senior year.

“When Maddy came in as a freshman, she was a skinny kid,” Viani, said. “It was amazing to me how good she got every year. The kid is a real competitor.”

And he was right.

Siegrist went on to score 2,896 points at Villanova, becoming the school and Big East all-time leading scorer. An All-American and two-time Big East Player of the Year, Siegrist led the nation in scoring her senior year at 29.2 points per game. She scored at least 20 points in all 37 contests and tallied at least 30 in 17 games.

“[Poughkeepsie] couldn’t be more proud of what she’s accomplished,” Viani said. “We don’t take it lightly to retire jerseys. … Somebody has had to have a major impact, but I think [Maddy] even supersedes that because we watched her not only in high school but right through college and into the pros. … [We have seen] just how much she’s grown and what it’s meant to the community.”

Siegrist always has been known to stick to her roots, and she continued that after her rookie WNBA season.

Now in the offseason, Siegrist is back at her second home, Villanova, as the special assistant to the senior women’s administrator.

In this newly created position, Siegrist works in the promotion, branding, and marketing of the women’s basketball program to enhance exposure, the fan base, and overall revenue.

Siegrist looks to return to the Wings for her second WNBA season, which begins May 15. And she’ll have all of Poughkeepsie to cheer her on.