Mary Grimes was named the sixth head women’s basketball coach in program history on June 15, 2021. Grimes, who previously served two separate stints as an assistant coach at Le Moyne, returned to the Heights following a two-year term as an assistant women’s basketball coach at Xavier University.
She is in her third season as the Le Moyne College women’s basketball head coach in 2023-24.
Grimes was named the 2023-24 Northeast Conference Brenda Reilly Coach of the Year after guiding the Dolphins to a 14-2 conference record in the program's first season in Division I and the NEC.
Le Moyne was picked to finish eighth out of nine teams in the NEC Preseason Coaches Poll, but the Dolphins outperformed expectations by claiming six regular season conference sweeps and defeating every team in the league at least once on their way to earning the no. 2 seed in the NEC Tournament.
The Dolphins finished the regular season on a seven-game win streak, then defeated seventh-seeded Stonehill and third-seeded FDU in the NEC Tournament to earn a conference title game appearance for the first time since the 2018-19 season.
Fifth-year guard Lytoya Baker was named the NEC Defensive Player of the Year, and was placed on the All-NEC First Team, was graduate guard Sydney Lusher earned All-Conference Third Team recognition.
In her first two years at the helm of the Le Moyne women’s basketball program, Grimes led the Dolphins to two Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season Championships, and two appearances in the NCAA Championship, with an overall record of 38-15.
Following the 2022-23 campaign, during which the Dolphins went 21-7 and won 16 of their final 17 regular season contests, Grimes was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year.
During the 2021-22 season, Grimes’ first year as a head coach, the ‘Phins compiled a 17-8 record, including a 14-5 conference resume, and a 12-2 record at home.
Le Moyne went on a six-game conference winning streak between January 1 and 22, then won six of their final nine regular season contests to earn a share of the NE10 Southwest Division regular season title and receive a first-round bye in the conference tournament.
The Dolphins won their quarterfinal contest against Saint Anselm before falling in the tournament semifinals against Bentley.
Seniors Erin Fouracre and Emma Brinker were both named to the Northeast-10 All-Conference Teams.
Le Moyne received the No. 6 seed in the 2022 NCAA Division II East Regional, the fourth time that the program has earned a spot in the NCAA Women’s Basketball Championship.
Even after losing three experienced starters following the 2021-22 season, the ‘Phins only continued their success under Grimes in 2022-23.
In their lone exhibition contest at Division I foe Syracuse University prior to the 2022-23 regular season, the Dolphins held a six-point lead over the Orange after the first quarter, and trailed by one point at halftime before eventually falling at the JMA Wireless Dome by a score of 73-70.
Under Grimes’ leadership, redshirt-freshman guard Sydney Lusher, and freshmen guards Kaia Goode and Sierra Linnin each had outstanding rookie campaigns, while senior Lytoya Baker and redshirt-sophomore Haedyn Roberts both flourished in increased roles and each claimed their first selection to an all-conference team.
Baker’s 16 double-doubles during the season was the 12th most in the country, and she was 11th in Division II in rebounding with 10.7 boards per contest. Following the season, Baker was named the NE10 Defensive Player of the Year, an All-Conference First Team choice, a D2CCA East Region First Team honoree, and a WBCA NCAA Division II Coaches’ All-America Honorable Mention selection.
Roberts was placed on the All-Conference Third Team, while Goode and Lusher were both named to the All-Rookie Team.
Lusher, who averaged 10.9 points, 4.6 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.7 blocks in a team-high 35.5 minutes per game, was named the Northeast-10 Conference Rookie of the Year.
Lusher and Goode were the only two rookies in the conference to average at least 10.0 points per game.
Grimes molded the 2022-23 group into one of the best defensive teams in the country. The Dolphins allowed just 55.4 points per game in their 28 contests, which was the ninth best opponent points per game average in all of Division II.
Following a loss to Assumption on December 11, which dropped Le Moyne’s record to 5-4, the ‘Phins won 16 of their final 17 regular season contests to improve their conference record to 16-4 and earn another regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament.
The Dolphins’ 21 regular season wins in 2022-23 is tied for the second most in program history, and their 11 straight conference wins to close the regular season tied a program record. They won 10 road games for the first time in program history, and they closed the season on an eight-game road winning streak, which is also a program record.
For the second consecutive season the ‘Phins received a spot in the NCAA Championship, just one of four NE10 schools to be selected to the postseason tournament.
Grimes returned to the Le Moyne sidelines for the third time after previously spending stints as an assistant under Jeanne Dupree from 2003-05 and Gina Castelli from 2017-19.
In her two-year stint alongside Castelli, she helped the Dolphins to a 43-17 overall record, including a mark of 27-13 in Northeast-10 Conference play. At the time of her departure, both marks were the best in a two-year span in the program’s 23 years in the conference. In 2018-19, she helped the Dolphins win their first-ever NE10 regular season and tournament championships. The Dolphins earned the fourth seed in the NCAA Championships East Regional - just the second NCAA appearance in the program’s history - and advanced to the regional championship game for the first time in the program’s history.
As the College celebrated its 75th anniversary in 2021, Grimes became the first African-American to serve as head coach of an intercollegiate athletic program in the history of Le Moyne College.
"Mary is a tremendous choice to lead our women's basketball team and I am proud to welcome her as the first African-American to serve as a head coach at the College," said Le Moyne President Linda M. LeMura at the time of Grimes' hiring. "Her familiarity with Le Moyne and its basketball program, along with her commitment to Jesuit education through her previous time here and at Xavier, will provide a solid foundation for Mary. She was selected from among several outstanding candidates and I'd like to express my appreciation for everyone who was involved with the search process."
“This is a truly exciting and historic day for Le Moyne College, our intercollegiate athletic program and the women’s basketball program as we welcome Mary Grimes back to the Heights as our new head coach,” said Beretta in 2021. “Mary clearly emerged from a talented candidate pool and is the perfect fit to build upon the remarkable success authored by retiring head coach Gina Castelli.
“Having served two terms as an assistant at Le Moyne, Mary understands our community and embraces the Jesuit values that steer our campus culture. Mary has consistently been a part of winning programs throughout her career, dating back to her days as a player at Siena. She has been a member of teams that have recorded 12 postseason appearances as a player and a coach, and will bring that championship mindset to our program. Mary is family-oriented and displays great care for the overall well-being of her players. I couldn’t be more excited to announce Mary Grimes as Le Moyne’s new women’s basketball head coach.”
During her time at Xavier, a member of the BIG EAST Conference, Grimes was responsible for scheduling opponents for future seasons, including managing the guarantee-game budget, served as offensive coordinator and scouting coach, identified and recruited potential prospects, led player development of guards, on-floor coaching and assisted with practice and game planning. She was also the academic liaison for the Musketeers with the team GPA rising from a 2.6 to a 3.2 after her hiring. She helped mentor A’riana Gray, who earned All-BIG EAST honors in 2019-20 after leading the conference in rebounding for the second straight year. She also helped guide Aaliyah Dunham, who ranked fourth in the conference in assists.
“Becoming a head coach has been a dream of mine and I am incredibly excited to be named the head coach for women's basketball at Le Moyne College,” said Grimes. “Le Moyne is a special place with special people and I'm so grateful for this opportunity.
“I'd like to thank Dr. LeMura, Bob Beretta, the search committee and everyone involved in the hiring process. There is a great foundation of success here and I'm eager to get to work and take the program to new heights.”
Grimes came back to the Heights in 2017 from the University at Albany, where she spent seven years. She served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the highly-successful women's basketball team from 2010-16. The Great Danes won five consecutive America East Conference Championships from 2012-16 and earned berths in the NCAA Championships each of those five seasons. UAlbany went 146-47 in the six years that Grimes was on the staff, including a mark of 107-23 over the final four seasons.
The Great Danes were 83-13 in America East competition, including 60-4 to claim four consecutive America East regular season titles over the last four years of her tenure. In her role with the Great Danes, she was responsible for all recruiting duties, including identifying potential prospects (domestic and international), analyzing their fit to the program and making contact with the players and coaches, while also coordinating official visits, unofficial visits and home visits. She was also responsible for game scheduling of opponents for future seasons, scouting opponents and developing game strategies along with player development of guards, on floor coaching and assisting with practice planning.
Prior to her time at UAlbany, Grimes was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Syracuse University for five years. With the Orange, she was an assistant coach from 2005-10 and added recruiting coordinator duties for the final two years. She was responsible for scouting reports and pre/post-game film breakdown, assisting with strategies and game planning for opponents and on-floor coaching. She was also the liaison for strength and conditioning and monitored student-athlete academic progress.
As recruiting coordinator, she was responsible for recruiting the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report's eighth-ranked class in 2009. The Orange posted a 16-win improvement from Grimes' first season on the staff (nine wins) to her final season under head coach Quentin Hillsman (25 wins). The Orange earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 after going 22-8 prior to the announcement of the tournament field. The Orange appeared in the WNIT in 2009 and advanced to the 2010 WNIT quarterfinals.
Grimes is a 2003 graduate of Siena College, where she earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in marketing and management. Grimes was a four-year member of the Saints' women's basketball team under the direction of Castelli, who was assisted by Hillsman during Grimes' freshman and sophomore seasons. Grimes started 93 of 119 games played as a Saint, scored 770 points, grabbed 288 rebounds, dished out 220 assists and posted 123 steals. The Saints were the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season champions in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and captured the MAAC Tournament Championship in 2001 to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Saints appeared in the WNIT in 2002 and 2003, advancing to the second round in 2003.
