Jack Lawhorne, Joey Motroni —Student Reporters
On Wednesday afternoon, Melissa “Missy” Traversi was officially introduced to the media as the next head coach of Merrimack Women’s Basketball. Traversi quickly emerged as a top candidate to replace Kelly Morrone, who moved on to take the head coach position at the University of Albany.
Traversi was most recently at the helm of the Army Women’s Basketball program from 2021-2025. Over her time at West Point, she coached the Black Knights to a 62-54 record. In the 2024-25 season, she led the program to a new single-season win record (25-8), which culminated in the program’s first-ever postseason victory against Bryant in the WNIT.
Coach Traversi also has experience as a head coach at Adelphi University and Wheelock College. When asked about how her coaching experience at varying levels of college basketball will contribute to building a program at Merrimack, she said, “I think every level has challenged me, some more than others, but every stop along the way, you have adversity…when adversity comes, you can either try to find a way or stop in your tracks. And I’ve been really lucky to find a way, regardless of where I’ve been. So I think all that knowledge and experience has led me to Merrimack, and I’m excited to kind of pour that out here.”
In her opening remarks, Traversi spoke about her philosophy as a coach. One word stood out above the rest: “uncommon”. What does uncommon mean to Coach Traversi? “(It) means doubling down on what we can control, our attitude, our effort, our attention to detail, and how we show up for one another every single day. It’s about how we respond to adversity and how we handle failure and how we rise when others may stumble, it’s about refusing to be like everyone else and choosing to do the extraordinary.”
Coach Traversi further explains how her philosophy will translate to the court this upcoming season. She said, “We will take care of the ball, defend with intelligence, limit turnovers, crash the boards, and play together offensively. The hope is to space the floor with shooters around our post players, make the extra pass.”
When asked why she is the right person for the job, Traversi answered: “Why me? Why not me?”
“I think my entire life I’ve kind of been that underdog. Whether I was a player, I’m like five foot five, five foot six on a good day, no one thought I could play division one basketball. Certainly, no one thought I could play professional basketball. Dream of a lifetime, to play in the WNBA and then to go on and coach at the highest level. You know, I just really play with that chip on my shoulder. I coach with that chip on my shoulder, and what a great place to bring that to Merrimack. And I know that’s the community here, so I’m excited.”
“I thought Kelly did a great job. I very much am coming in here with a program she has left in a great place for me. It’s just about being authentic to who I am and collaborating with the leadership that we have right now, hoping a strong net of returners come back, and we can build off that success. I’m looking forward to being authentic to who I am while also building off the success that we’ve had.”
One of Coach Traversi’s biggest accomplishments in her coaching career has been success in the postseason. She will be looking to emulate that success here in North Andover and advance past the Semi-final round of the MAAC Tournament for the first time.
