Ty Grace ’99 has been named the head coach of the University of New Haven women’s basketball team, as announced today by Associate Vice President, Director of Athletics and Recreation Deborah Chin. Grace brings 13 seasons of Division I coaching experience to the Chargers’ sideline.
"The chance to coach at my alma mater is a once in a lifetime opportunity," said Grace. "I’m proud to be an alum of the University of New Haven and proud to be the head coach of Charger women’s basketball."
Most recently the top assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Seton Hall University, Grace was instrumental in assembling recruiting classes ranked as high as 25th in all of Division I as a member of the prestigious Big East Conference, including the signing of two McDonald’s All-America nominees. The Pirates’ roster included an All-Big East Rookie Team member and two Second Team All-Big East performers during Grace’s tenure in South Orange from 2009-2013. She coached alongside Anne Donovan, an Olympic gold medalist as both a coach and player and member of the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame who is currently the head coach of the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun.
"Ty is an up and coming star in the coaching world," said Donovan. "She will do great things for the program at New Haven."
Previously, Grace was an assistant coach at the United States Military Academy from 2006-09. The Black Knights recorded a program-best 24 victories in the 2006-07 campaign, including a record 12-game winning streak, and featured a Patriot League Player of the Year, two Rookies of the Year and a Scholar-Athlete of the Year in her four-year run at West Point.
Grace collected prior head coaching experience at Ramapo College of New Jersey from 2004-06 and served as a Division I assistant coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University from 1999-2004. She began her coaching career as a graduate assistant at the University of Hartford from 1998-99.
The 16th head coach in program history, Grace was inducted into the New Haven Athletics Hall of Fame in 2010 for her performance as a student-athlete. She is one of only two Chargers to record 1,000 points and 1,000 rebounds for her career, totaling 1,347 points and 1,047 boards with 47 double-doubles from 1994-98.
"The Chargers are very excited to welcome Ty back to the University of New Haven," said Chin. "Ty’s experience at the highest level of college basketball and with one of the nation’s most respected coaches makes her a perfect fit for our program. As an alumnus and Hall of Fame inductee, her passion for New Haven is unmatched and we believe the future is very bright for New Haven women’s basketball."
Grace graduated from the University in 1999 with a B.S. in the Management of Sports Industries and later earned a Master’s of Administrative Science from Fairleigh Dickinson in 2001.
Grace will officially assume the duties of head women’s basketball coach on July 22, 2013.
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