Roger Williams University Men's Basketball

Mark Ward was promoted to Associate Head Coach of the Roger Williams University Men's Basketball Program, after serving as an assistant coach since the 2021-22 season. Ward joined the Hawks with extensive experience from his diverse thirty-year coaching career. His journey included stops at the professional level as a player and coach for Team Hoffmans in the Irish Basketball Association (IBBA), collegiate coaching opportunities at St. Bonaventure University (DI) as an assistant, Mt. St. Mary College (DIII) as the head coach and Davis College as an assistant coach (USCAA). He has also served as the head varsity coach at Seton Catholic Cnetral High School, Owego Free Academy, Union-Endicott High School and Susquehanna Valley High School. Coach Ward's experience extends to the AAU basketball circuit as a head coach for BX Player Development and the Southern Tier Rage. He has worked for both men's and women's Hoop Group organizations as a coach and guest presenter. Ward has held speaking engagements in Ireland and the New York State Coaches Clinic. He also spoke and demonstrated at the US Lacrosse Convention on Goalie Play. Ward has prior experience coaching lacrosse, working as an assistant for the Hawks' men's lacrosse program during his first two years as an assistant basketball coach. Ward played at Manhattanville University, where he was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Ward finished his collegiate career with 1,833 points and 769 rebounds. He was named to seven All-Tournament Teams, the New York State Division III Player of the Year and the All-Metropolitan Division III Player of the Year. He was also named to the NABC All-East District Squad.  

Michelle Spreda was promoted to Associate Head Coach of the Roger Williams University Women's Basketball Program in the fall of 2025, after serving as an Assistant Coach for the Hawks since the 2018-19 season. Spreda played a key role on the bench in the Hawks' first-ever Conference Championship during the 2021-22 campaign, as the Hawks would follow with a second straight title in 2022-23.   Spreda is a 2010 undergraduate of Eastern Connecticut State University with a degree in Child Psychology and an upcoming 2018 graduate of Johnson & Wales University with a Master’s degree in Sports Leadership.   Spreda worked as the Assistant Women’s Basketball Coach at Johnson & Wales in 2016 prior to taking on her new role at Roger Williams University. At JWU, she instructed and taught fundamentals to all guards as well as developed scouting reports to include breakdowns and in-game matchups. There, she also recruited and met with prospective student-athletes and organized all of the fundraising events.   Prior to her time as an Assistant Coach, she also served as the Director of Intramural Programming for the Johnson & Wales Athletic Department. In this position she promoted intramurals by attending resource fairs, creating flyers, and creating a presence on social media. She was able to implement new program ideas that aligned with the students’ interests and conducted student surveys in order to track participation trends.   Spreda worked for the Rhode Island Breakers before starting at JWU for three years. She currently is the Director of Player Development that develops, plans, and instructs tryouts for all teams in the organization as well as teaching players in team practices and individual sessions. Before she obtained her current role, she was also the Head Coach of the U15 team and the Assistant Coach of the U17 team.