Every Student Has a Story: Brendan Coyle '26, G '27

When the championship game went final, Brendan Coyle '26, G'27 and his teammates erupted into sweaty, euphoric celebration. This victory, for themselves and for their school, was a triumph they would remember forever. After all, they were... kickball tournament champions. Wait. Did you think this was a basketball story? We'll get to that...

Earlier this month, Coyle and his best buddies from freshman year signed up for the inaugural Senior Week kickball tournament on the quad. This is the same group of guys that play intramural basketball together, with Coyle as their coach. And this is the same group that suffered a heartbreaking loss in the intramural softball finals. Coyle wouldn't let that happen again. He delivered a game-winning grand slam in the kickball semifinals, and they grinded out a win later that day in the championship.

"This was our one shot at redemption. The rest of the team is moving on, but I'll be back to defend the title next year."

Coyle is the rare Division I basketball star who has not only been at the same school for four years, he's coming back for a 5th year and an MBA. While most players of Coyle's caliber chase maximum NIL dollars and elevate basketball over everything, Coyle has shown rare loyalty to the same school. That's probably because he fell in love with that school more than a decade ago.

Coyle grew up in Niskayuna, about 20 minutes from campus. As a kid, he'd go to Siena basketball games with his family. When he was 9, he got the chance to be ball kid for a day.

"I remember being on the court and thinking, 'This might be the biggest place I've ever seen.' It was such a cool experience."

At the time, he was a better shortstop than he was a basketball player. But soon, he gave up the other sports to focus on basketball, and he received an early offer from Siena. He went to prep school for a year, expecting more DI options to come his way, but a combination of injuries and an illness erased almost his entire basketball season. Every option he had, and every option he expected to get, was gone.

"I decided to walk on at Siena. It was all I had. There was no scholarship, but I'd be close to home and I was told if I worked hard, there could be a future. I just needed that chance."

But walk-ons don't blossom into starters. Coyle didn't play a single minute his freshman year.

"I didn't realize at the time how college basketball worked. I was disappointed, but I made the decision that whether I was playing or not, I would put in the work. I knew that if I could just see a little bit of sunlight, I would crack through."

Coyle averaged eight minutes a game as a sophomore, then established himself as one of the premier shooters in the conference as a junior. This year, Siena rode his elevated play in Atlantic City to the program's first MAAC Championship in 16 years, and then a near upset of Duke in the NCAA Tournament.

"The MAAC Championship still doesn't feel real. I'll still open my phone a few times a day and watch videos from that game. It still hasn't set in. We had a really special group."

But what makes it all the more special, is that it happened here.

"Siena means the world to me. As I look back at my four years, this place has seen every side of me. The highest highs and the lowest lows. It's really special to me. The support. The people. It means everything."

That's why the kickball win with his best friends matter. That's why he's staying for another year and another degree, before chasing his professional basketball dreams overseas. Siena wanted him when he had no other options, and now that he has every option, all he wants is one more year at Siena.