Road to Duke
Jeremy Roach was born on November 1, 2001, in Washington, D.C., and raised in Leesburg, Virginia. His mother, Carole, says the basketball story began when Jeremy was six months old: he sat down, picked up a full-size basketball, and started throwing it in the air. He just had to have a ball, she said. He was playing organized basketball by age four with the Leesburg Basketball Club, and by the time he hit the AAU circuit with Team Takeover on the Nike EYBL, he was one of the most coveted young point guards in the country.
Roach attended St. Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax, Virginia — a 45-minute commute each way from Leesburg that he made every day without complaint. He became the first boys’ basketball player in school history to sign with Duke. He won a state championship as a sophomore, maintained at least a 3.1 GPA all four years, and represented the United States at the FIBA Americas U-16 Championship and the FIBA U-17 World Cup, winning gold medals both times. He was the starting point guard for the U-17 team. He was the Virginia Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior.
Then, in November 2018, during his junior year, Roach tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee. It was a normal basketball move — a high ball screen, a step left, a step right, and his knee collapsed underneath him. He knew immediately what it was. The Washington Post, USA Today, and Bleacher Report all covered the injury of one of the nation’s top recruits. He came back. On May 8, 2019, he became the first five-star recruit in the Class of 2020 to announce his commitment, choosing Duke over Kentucky, North Carolina, and Villanova.
At Duke
Jeremy Roach played four seasons at Duke, 2020–21 through 2023–24, and lived through nearly every scenario a college basketball player can experience. His career is a time capsule of the modern era — the COVID season, the coaching transition, the one-and-done carousel, the transfer portal, and the question of what it means to stay.
Freshman year, 2020–21: the COVID season. Duke went 13–11 and missed the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1995. For a program that measures itself by March, it was humbling. Roach averaged 8.7 points and 3.2 assists as the starting point guard.
Sophomore year, 2021–22: Coach K’s final season, and Roach was the steady hand at point guard alongside Paolo Banchero, AJ Griffin, Mark Williams, and Wendell Moore Jr. Duke went 32–7, won the ACC regular-season title, and reached the Final Four before losing to North Carolina in Coach K’s last game. Roach had 15 points in the semifinal victory over Arkansas. It was rumored that he might enter the transfer portal after the season. He stayed.
Junior year, 2022–23: Jon Scheyer’s first season as head coach. Roach was named team captain and earned the team’s MVP award. He scored a career-high 23 points in the ACC championship game win over Virginia, pouring in 19 second-half points, and matched that 23 against Oral Roberts in the NCAA Tournament. He averaged 13.6 points per game. He stayed again.
Senior year, 2023–24: captain again, the veteran anchor on a young roster. Roach averaged 14.0 points, 3.3 assists, and shot a career-best 42.9 percent from three. He surpassed 1,000 career points — the 68th player in Duke history to reach that milestone. He scored 14 second-half points against top-seeded Houston in the Sweet Sixteen. Duke reached the Elite Eight before falling to NC State. In four years, Roach had played 130 games, started 108, and compiled a record that included a Final Four, an ACC Tournament championship, an ACC regular-season title, and an Elite Eight. His senior class finished with a 65–2 record at home.
He was part of 121 victories — tied for sixth in ACC history and fifth at Duke. He played for two head coaches. He was twice named captain. He lived through the worst Duke season in a generation and one of the best coaching farewells in the history of the sport. In an era when everyone leaves after one year, Jeremy Roach stayed four.
After Duke
After four years, Roach entered the transfer portal in April 2024, using his extra COVID year. He committed to Baylor. Scheyer: “We’ve been through a lot together” — handled with love and honesty. Roach: “I am forever grateful to be part of the Brotherhood. I’ll always be a Blue Devil.”
Where Is He Now
After four years at Duke, Roach entered the transfer portal in April 2024, using his extra COVID year of eligibility. He committed to Baylor. Jon Scheyer said the departure was handled with love and honesty. We’ve been through a lot together, Scheyer said. On Roach’s side: I am forever grateful to be part of the Brotherhood. I’ll always be a Blue Devil.
In March 2025, the draw produced the moment everyone had been waiting for: ninth-seeded Baylor faced top-seeded Duke in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Jeremy Roach, wearing a Baylor jersey, faced the program he had given four years of his life to. All those guys over there are my brothers, Roach said before the game. I’ll just kind of imagine that it’s some of the pickup runs we had in the summer when we were playing against each other. Duke won, advancing to the Sweet Sixteen in what would become a run to the Final Four. But Roach had played the game with the same toughness and poise he had shown for four years in Durham.
His brother Jordan played basketball at Christopher Newport University. His sister Chloe played at Eastern Mennonite University. Basketball was a family language in the Roach household, and Jeremy spoke it the loudest.
Jeremy Roach was born in Washington, D.C., and raised in Leesburg, Virginia. He picked up a basketball at six months old and never put it down. He won two gold medals with USA Basketball before he was old enough to drive. He tore his ACL as a high school junior, came back, and became the first five-star in his class to commit to Duke. He played four years when everyone else played one. He lived through the COVID season, Coach K’s farewell, and Scheyer’s beginning. He was captain twice. He scored 1,469 points. He hit the biggest shots in the biggest games — 19 second-half points in the ACC championship, 14 in the second half against Houston in the Sweet Sixteen. He stayed when staying was harder than leaving. Then he left with grace, transferred to Baylor, and faced his Brotherhood on the tournament stage. Scheyer said they had been through a lot together. Roach said he would always be a Blue Devil. In an era defined by departures, Jeremy Roach is the player who proved that four years at Duke still means something. He was the bridge between two eras, and bridges are built to last.