LeMoyne College is green-lighting a nation-wide search for the next head of their women's basketball program following Mary Grimes stepping down from the helm in order to accept the vacant head-coaching position on the Binghamton University women's basketball program sidelines.
Grimes is coming off of her first stint as a head coach after LeMoyne President Dr. Linda LeMura and Athletics Director Bob Beretta worked together to extend her that opportunity prior to the 2021-22 season.
With the move an hour south of Syracuse to Vestal, New York, Grimes ends her third post at LeMoyne after serving as an assistant coach under both Jeanne Dupree (2003-05) and Gina Castelli (2017-19) before becoming the head coach of the Dolphins Women's Basketball program from 2021-24.
Grimes led LeMoyne to a national tournament 100% of the time as their women's head coach, with back-to-back trips to the NCAA Division II Women's Basketball Tournament and then the WNIT in Division I.
When she took over the program in 2021 following the COVID season where the Dolphins did not play any games (2020-21), the school was an NCAA Division II institution.
In May 2023, LeMoyne College made the decision to reclassify to NCAA Division I, and Grimes responded by aiding the Dolphins to an overall winning record of 18-15 in Year 1 of the move. This record included a 14-2 regular-season finish in the team's first-ever season in the Northeast Conference (NEC).
The Dolphins would hand the first-place finisher, the Sacred Heart Pioneers, their only loss in conference play all season, and LeMoyne would advance to the championship game in their first-ever NEC Tournament.
Under Grimes, LeMoyne was selected as an automatic-qualifier for the WNIT, giving the Dolphins a place in the NCAA Division I postseason in their first season as an NCAA Division I program, which provided the team a national tournament home amidst the four-year reclassifying period that prevents them from getting to the NCAA Tournament as part of current NCAA regulations for schools moving into Division I.
In Grimes second stint at LeMoyne, she was a member of the coaching staff led by Castelli that hoisted the school's first and only Northeast-10 (NE-10) Conference Tournament championship trophy.
She leaves LeMoyne with an overall head-coaching record of 56-30.
“I can’t thank Mary enough for her incredible leadership of our women’s basketball program the past three years,” said LeMoyne College Athletics Director Bob Beretta. “She not only maintained the high degree of excellence that Gina Castelli had established within our program but she was able to build on that. We wish Mary the best in her new position at Binghamton.”
With the program having a strong foundation, aided by the recent successes of Castelli and Grimes, the Dolphins are an enticing home for anyone looking to dive into the waters here "On the Heights".
The school is already fielding interest and will be doing its due diligence to discern the best leader to move the program into its next era.