If you told a middle school-aged Maddy Siegrist that in less than a decade she would be a prominent WNBA player for the Dallas Wings, she would have said you were crazy. But that is exactly what happened, and according to her mother, Virginia, it is a testament to her hard work and dedication beginning in childhood.
Siegrist grew up in Poughkeepsie and has deep connections to Marist College. Her father, George, not only attended Marist and played basketball but coached the Red Foxes from 1991-2004.
Virginia attended Marist from 1992 to 1998 and currently works in the Office of Accommodations and Accessibility. When thinking back to Maddy’s childhood, Virginia recalls her daughter’s resounding work ethic and constant desire to practice.
“She decided that she wanted to practice that much. She begged for my husband to take her to the gym after hours and bring her to the Marist gym,” said Virginia Siegrist.
Maddy Siegrist started playing basketball at a young age through her local Catholic Youth Organization (CYO) basketball program. In seventh grade, CYO had travel programs and fielded two teams: A and B. When Maddy was assigned to the B team, she was devastated.
“They had all the 7th graders on the B team and all the 8th graders on the A team, but she was mad,” said Virginia Siegrist. “She wanted to be on the A team.”
Not being selected to the A team may have been just the motivation Siegrist needed to take the next step.
Siegrist then played for Spackenkill School District’s modified team, which is the equivalent of a JV team. Siegrist started nearly every game for the modified squad. At that point, her motivation to keep playing rose.
“That just gave her the drive to practice,” said Virginia Siegrist. “Sometimes before school, she would go outside in the driveway and shovel a semicircle so she could play horse around the hoop herself.”
From 2014 to 2018, Siegrist attended Our Lady of Lourdes High School in Poughkeepsie. She came in playing both soccer and basketball but later dropped soccer to focus on basketball. With her hard work and dedication to the game she made varsity as a freshman, a stark contrast to her not making the CYO A team just two years prior.
“I was very nervous about a 13-year-old being on a varsity sport because some of the girls were 18 years old,” said Virginia. “I think she had 15 points in her first varsity game at 13 years old and her coach, Coach Vianni, believed in her.”
Siegrist’s exceptional performances at Lourdes, including multiple 40-point games, resulted in becoming captain in her junior and senior years. She also played at AAU tournaments, an opportunity to play against some of the top talent in the country.
Eventually, college programs began to take notice. Siegrist received scholarship offers from five schools including Marist, but committed to Villanova in 2017.
As exciting as it was to get recruited by a Division I basketball program in the Big East Conference, parts of the transition to college were difficult for Maddy. However, her passion for the game continued to soar as she embraced her new opportunity.
“[Maddy] was so appreciative that Villanova as a community loved basketball because she loved basketball,” Virginia said. “When she got there, it felt like her teachers and friends she met loved basketball. Even if they didn’t play, they loved basketball.”
Although Maddy was confident at Villanova, Virginia was nervous about her daughter’s transition from high school to college. Her new coach, Harry Perretta, led the Villanova program since 1978.
Some of Siegrist’s teammates’ mothers played under him during their careers. Virginia, on the other hand, never played basketball and found the whole transition a little overwhelming.
Siegrist redshirted her freshman year because of an injured ankle. Once she was healthy, Siegrist had to work to earn her coach’s trust.
“She didn’t start the first three games, but they lost the first three games,” said Virginia Siegrist. “She asked Coach Perretta to start her in the fourth game which was at Fordham. She started, and she did a great job.”
Against Fordham, Siegrist shot 13-of-16 from the field and scored 29 points in 28 minutes. These numbers continued throughout her college career and Siegrist averaged 24.3 points per game for her career and a robust 29.2 her senior season.
“She was the lead scorer at Villanova for men and women,” said Virginia Siegrist. “Being the lead scorer at Villanova, when you have basketball players like Jalen Brunson, I mean she scored more points than he did.”
After her senior season, Siegrist had a decision to make; utilize her extra year of eligibility granted because of the COVID-19 pandemic or declare for the 2023 WNBA draft. The possibility of moving across the country concerned Maddy.
Although the draft process was nerve-wracking, Dallas Wings general manager Greg Bibb is a Marist alumnus, who selected Siegrist third overall. Bibb’s Marist background helped Maddy’s family feel more comfortable with the idea of going all the way to Dallas. But still, Siegrist felt homesick.
“She missed her best friends from Villanova,” said Virginia Siegrist. “To move when you’re 22 years old to a new state and live in an apartment by yourself in a big organization like the WNBA where some of her teammates are in their 30s, it was a big transition.”
However, Siegrist leaned on her experiences at Villanova which prepared her for the WNBA. Her success at the college level helped make her feel comfortable beginning her career with the Wings. She became friends with her teammates including star players Arike Ogunbowale and Natasha Howard.
Maddy acclimated to the WNBA especially well for a young player. Although she only played 8.2 minutes per game in 2023, she made great strides in 2024 and averaged 9.4 points and 3.3 rebounds through 27 contests.
Siegrist represented the Dallas Wings at the 2024 WNBA draft lottery, and the Wings won the first overall pick. She could potentially team up with another future star; standout University of Connecticut guard Paige Bueckers.
According to the Poughkeepsie Journal, Maddy had the Bible verse Luke 12:48 on her sneakers when she played at Lourdes. The verse signifies giving back when you have so much. The Siegrist family volunteered at the Adaptive Sports Foundation, Kids Give the World, and Wounded Warriors.
“When you are talented and God gives you a talent, it is up to you on how you want to use that,” said Virginia Siegrist. “All my children have been blessed to be physically able and with that ability to do good on this earth with two strong arms and two strong legs.”
Just as Siegrist’s WNBA career develops, so does her life off the court. In a full circle moment, she recently became engaged to Stephen Perretta, coach Harry’s son. Stephen is an assistant coach with the Drexel women’s basketball program.
Siegrist continued to advance her professional career recently qualifying for the 3×3 women’s national basketball team, which played in the FIBA AmeriCup in San Juan, Puerto Rico Dec. 12-15.
It remains to be seen how Siegrist’s WNBA career will continue to develop, but one thing is for sure; she has made the town of Poughkeepsie, and her mother, proud.
Edited by Max Rosen and Marley Pope
Photos from Kira Crutcher
Graphic by Quinn DiFiore
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