Roche joins the Bulldogs with six years of collegiate lacrosse coaching experience on her resume, including two as the associate head coach at the University of Massachusetts.

"Brianna has a great knowledge of the game, is a strong recruiter and is an excellent fit to build on the foundation that coach Batcheller has built here at Bryant," Smith said. "Brianna has strong leadership skills, is committed to mentoring and developing strong leadership qualities in young women and has an outstanding track record of academic success as a student-athlete and a coach.

"This was an incredible applicant pool which speaks volumes to where we are as a program," Smith continued.

Roche spent three seasons at UMass, including the last two as the associate head coach. The Minutemwomen thrived with her on the sidelines, going 56-8 overall, while claiming three-straight Atlantic-10 Championships and advancing to the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2016.

Roche's offensive mindset helped the Minutewomen finish in the top five nationally in scoring offense, points per game and assists per game each of her final two years. Under her tutelage, Erika Eipp won back-to-back A-10 Offensive Player of the Year honors and Hannah Murphy claimed three-straight A-10 Midfielder of the Year honors.