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Keeley Cleland stands up to shut down mental health stigma with Morgan’s Message

A heartbreaking end to 2025 tested Sun Devil Lacrosse, but the program’s commitment to mental health, led in part by Keeley Cleland’s work with Morgan’s Message, has built a culture rooted in resilience, support and strength beyond the field.

Keeley Cleland stands up to shut down mental health stigma with Morgan’s MessageKeeley Cleland stands up to shut down mental health stigma with Morgan’s Message
Sun Devil Athletics
by Meredith Cunningham

The end of the 2025 season stung.

Sun Devil Lacrosse stormed all the way to the Big 12 Championship title game, only to watch the trophy raised by the hands of the University of Florida. 

This kind of heartbreak demands more than stick skills, it requires mental muscle.

If there is a team on the Arizona State University campus built to handle both the physical pressure and mental exercise, it’s Sun Devil Lacrosse. 

The program puts an incredible emphasis on mental health and wellness, reinforced by its coaching staff and amplified by senior defender Keeley Cleland’s work with Morgan’s Message. Together, they’ve created a culture prepared not only to chase championships but to support one another through thick and thin. 

Lacrosse's Morgan's Message game vs. USCSun Devil Lacrosse team huddles before their Morgan’s Message and Mental Health Awareness game vs. USC on Saturday, Feb. 28, 2026, at Sun Devil Lacrosse Stadium.

Morgan’s Message
Morgan’s Message is a mental health organization founded in honor of Morgan Rogers, a Duke University lacrosse player who took her own life after battling an injury. Her story sparked a national movement to eliminate stigma surrounding student-athlete mental health. 

Now active on high school and college campuses nationwide, the organization has a strong presence at Arizona State. Cleland serves as chapter chair alongside teammate Caroline Lyttle.

Introduced to the program during her sophomore year by former teammate Lexi Guerin. Cleland needed little convincing to get involved.

“Mental health is a super important topic to me,” Cleland said, who is graduating in May with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with a focus in nutritional science and communications, and a minor in psychology.

“Being an athlete, there are so many stressors going on and being part of an outlet and an important space for athletes with like-minded individuals is something I was excited to step into.”

In her role as chapter chair, Cleland leads monthly meetings, which are open to all ASU  students, but primarily serve student-athletes. Around 20 typically attend, many of them lacrosse players, swimmers and triathletes.

The conversations are meaningful. They talk about coming back from injuries, exam anxiety, navigating expectations, and also about stress management. 

“Positive self-talk is a great way to deal with stress,” she explained. “We talk about finding ways to talk to yourself positively and not focus on the negative. That alone can impact so much.”

“Positive self-talk is a great way to deal with stress. We talk about finding ways to talk to yourself positively and not focus on the negative. That alone can impact so much.”

On top of having real and relevant conversations, the meetings also provide access to nationwide mental health resources such as hotline numbers and local counselors. They’ll also participate in simple stress-relieving activities like coloring. 

The Sun Devils also recently hosted a Morgan’s Message-themed game that included custom shooting T-shirts for the team, while fans could make signs and take advantage of provided resources. Mental health was also woven into pregame talks.

“In the team huddles, we talked about how much we have to love each other through things, and that when things get tough, we have to lean on each other.”

Overall, Cleland deemed the game’s promotions a success. 

“Because it is often hard to reach out, we have to remind people about the mental health resources that are out there. I think the more we can put it out there casually, the better the odds are that people will feel safe to reach out and take advantage of those resources.

Morgan's Message game vs. USC

MercerCK-3

Built on support
Morgan’s Message resonates so strongly within Sun Devil Lacrosse because the team already prioritizes mental health. A mentally strong team starts with trust, and Cleland has found that in both her teammates and coaches.

“The experience that I’ve had here has just been so positive. I just absolutely love my team, my teammates, my coaches,” said Cleland. “The overall support that I have from my teammates, I’m just so grateful to have that.”

“Our coaches are just absolutely so supportive, too,” Cleland continued. "They are always so open and ready to listen to anything we might need. They were all college players themselves. So they all understand that sometimes you just need a day. I think that’s really awesome.”

That understanding shows up in meaningful ways. The team holds biweekly sports psychology sessions and offers designated mental health days.

If a player needs a day, she can text her coach. No interrogation. No guilt trip. Just a reminder to check in with the sports psychology staff to ensure everything is okay. It is proactive. Preventative. Human.

“I don’t think I’ve heard about any other team or coach that does that,” she said. “I think that is just such an awesome and unique thing that our coaches really care about us.”

The result is a program where toughness and vulnerability are not opposites. They coexist.

The message that matters
As the end of her senior season approaches, Cleland’s legacy will not be measured solely in goals or ground balls. It will echo in quieter ways: In the teammate who chooses to speak up, the student-athlete who decides to make a phone call, in the player who realizes strength is not silence.

“Spreading awareness and fighting the stigma with student-athletes is a huge thing,” she said. “The more we can fight it, the less we’ll see sad things happen.”

Somewhere between the turf and the team meetings, Keeley Cleland has helped to build a team culture where no one has to play through the storm alone. 

 

 

Have a Sun Devil story to share? Fork it over to Meredith Cunningham, digital content manager for sundevils.com, at mcunni43@asu.edu.