Where is Siena College located? What to know of Texas's NCAA Softball Tournament Round 1 opponent
With a field of 68 in the NCAA Softball Tournament that spans across 16 different regional sites, you will come across some new schools, which will lead to asking yourself: Where is that school located?
If you watch the Austin Regional this weekend, one of those will be Siena College.
The Saints, who compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference, are appearing in their first-ever NCAA Softball Tournament. Their first game won't be an easy one or welcome for that matter: No. 1 overall seed Texas.
MORE: Watch the 2024 NCAA Softball Tournament with Fubo (Free Trial)
Led by Jocelyn Ulrich at the plate, who is hitting an impressive .429 batting average, and Alissa Eimont in the circle, who has a 1.87 ERA with a 20-8 overall record, Siena is having its best season in program history with a 33-20 overall record.
Here's what you need to know about Siena from how it was founded, what conference it competes in, its NCAA Tournament history and more:
Where is Siena located?
Location: Loudonville, New York
Student population: 3,519 (fall 2022)
The Franciscan friars founded Siena College in September of 1937 as a Catholic college for men. As noted by its website, Siena College began to offer "coeducational evening and summer divisions" to "complement the all-male day school" beginning in 1938.
It is located in Loudonville, New York — which is considered a "hamlet" or community in the town of Colonie in Albany County. Loudonville is located 155 miles north of New York City, which is a roughly a three-hour drive into Manhattan on a good traffic day. According to U.S. News & World Reports, Siena College had a student population a little north of 3,500 back in the fall of 2022 for undergrad.
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What is Siena's mascot?
Siena's mascot is named "Bernie" the Saint Bernard, a friendly-looking dog mascot.
Bernie isn't the only mascot that Siena has though. Like other Division I schools — UConn, Butler, Georgetown and Georgia to just name a few — Siena also has a real human dog named Baloo, a four-year-old Saint Bernard. His nickname is "The Saint Baloo" according to Siena's website.
The college's president, Dr. Charles Siefert, recently adopted him in March according to News10, the local ABC affiliate in Loudonville after Baloo's previous owner took a job that required more traveling. Baloo is currently in the process of becoming a certified therapy dog per News10.
Baloo was recently featured on American Kennel Club TV:
What conference does Siena play in?
The Saints compete in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), where it has been a member of the mid-major conference since 1989.
Who is Siena's coach?
Siena is coached by Casey Bump, who was promoted to head coach of the softball program in 2020 after serving the previous seven seasons as the Saints top assistant and pitching coach under previous head coach Bill Lajeunesse.
She began her coaching career in college as an assistant coach and pitching coach at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, positions she held from 2009-13. Bump then joined Lajeunesse's staff at Siena in 2014.
Since taking over the program in 2020, Bump has taken the program to new heights — as highlighted by its first NCAA Tournament appearance this year. Through her first three seasons, Bump has become the winningest coach in the history of the program in that time span at 83 wins.
This season under Bump, Siena has topped its 2022 records for most wins in a single season and deepest postseason run in the MAAC Tournament by winning 33 games and winning the conference tournament.
Bump played collegiately at the University of Albany — where she is a memebr of its Athletics Hall of Fame — from 2004 to 2007. At Albany, Bump, maiden name Halloran, was a two-time America East Tournament Most Outstanding Player and a America East Pitcher of the Year honoree. She graduated from Albany as the holder of seven program records per her profile page on Siena's website: career wins (73), strikeouts (595), complete games (68), games started (97), innings pitched (650.2), appearances (125) and no-hitters (4)
Here's a full year-by-year breakdown of Bumps' tenure at Siena:
Career: 116-82 overall, 56-39 in MAAC play
2021: 19-15 overall, 19-13 in MAAC play
2022: 32-23 overall, 14-6 in MAAC play
2023: 32-21 overall, 11-9 in MAAC play
2024: 33-20 overall, 12-11 in MAAC play
Siena's 2024 season rundown
2024 record: 33-20 overall, 12-11 in MAAC play
For the third straight season, Sienna has recorded 30 or more overall wins — another new feat that Bump has taken the program to.
The Saints defeated 3-seed Rider, 2-seed Niagara and 4-seed Canisius twice in the MAAC Tournament to win their first ever conference tournament title. Centerfielder Isabella Pardo came up big for Sienna in the MAAC Tournament title game as her three RBIs on the afternoon helped the Saints narrowly beat Canisius 7-6.
Siena's NCAA Tournament history
2024: TBD
This is the first year that Siena has appeared in the NCAA Tournament.
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This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Siena College location: NCAA Softball Tournament history, more to know
