BUTTE — Selene Morrell missed the Mining City dearly. So much so that she’s decided to continue her basketball career in Butte with Montana Tech.
Morrell signed with the Orediggers on Thursday morning.
The daughter of former Tech head football coach Chuck Morrell, Selene spent most of her childhood in Butte before spending the bulk of high school in California and Washington.
Despite moving around, the aspiration of being a Digger never wavered.
“It’s always been a dream of mine to go to Tech and get to play at Tech,” Selene said.
“The environment that Coach Graham is creating is going to be a good one and I was really intrigued by what he was doing there.”
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Selene spent her first two years of high school at Clovis West in Fresno while her father coached the safeties at Fresno State. Then she spent her junior year and part of her senior year at Bellevue High in the Seattle area when Chuck was the co-defensive coordinator/safeties coach at the University of Washington.
When this past football season wrapped up, the Morrell’s returned to Butte and Selene got the chance to play for the Bulldogs in the final stretch of the season. It’s exactly how she wanted to finish her high school career.
“I’m extremely blessed to have gotten to play at Butte High. That’s another thing that eight-year-old me dreamed of. Playing at the Civic Center, playing in the Ross J. Richardson gym and getting to put on a Butte High jersey,” Selene said.
“That was another dream come true of mine, to get to finish out my career at Butte High. It’s also a very full circle moment for me.”
And with Selene back in Butte, it gave Tech head coach Jeff Graham a front row seat to check out her game. She quickly asserted herself as a dominant presence inside for the Bulldogs.
“(Selene) came in (to Butte High) and had an instant impact,” Graham said. “She’s a no-brainer to add to the roster.”
It’s the second year in a row that Tech has brought in a Butte product as former Central standout Brooke Badovinac was a freshman last season.
Tech is coming off of a 12-17 season in the second year of Graham’s tenure, a five-win improvement from 2022-23. As the Diggers look to continue building and creating a new culture, Selene is the kind of player they were looking for.
“She’s like her parents, she’s a hard-nosed, tough kid. A great practice player, works her butt off all the time. She’s the perfect type of kid for our program,” Graham said.
Now Selene gets the opportunity to make up for lost time in the place she considers home.
The Morrell’s time in Butte resonated strongly with the family, as Chuck noted in an interview 406mtsports.com prior to the College Football Playoff in December.
“The first thing that comes to mind is home,” he said. “I raised my kids there. I love Butte, Montana.”
Just over four years since Chuck and his family left the community after a nine-year tenure at Tech, another Morrell will now get to sport the green and copper.
“It’s really good to be back in Butte and get to live life here,” Selene said.
Gavin Derkatch is a sports reporter for the Montana Standard. Follow him on Twitter @GDerkatch or email him gavin.derkatch@406mtsports.com