A new head coach will lead the Salt Lake Community College women’s basketball next season but new doesn’t mean unfamiliar in this case.
SLCC Director of Athletics and Recreation Kevin Dustin announced that longtime SLCC assistant coach Marcilina Grayer has been elevated to lead the program. Grayer, who also played for the Bruins under former head coach Betsy Specketer, has been working with the program since 2013 as an assistant coach.
While there was interest in the Salt Lake job from many different parts of the collegiate basketball world, Dustin said the coaching search rendered a tremendous option early on in the process.
“I am excited that Marci will be leading our women’s basketball program,” he said. “I have observed her interaction with our teams over the past five years and have been impressed with her understanding of the game and her ability to coach young women. She is a dedicated student of basketball and has done much over the past few years to prepare her for this opportunity.”
Grayer said she is ecstatic to be named as the program’s next head coach.
“It is an honor to be named the head coach (at SLCC),” she said. “To have the opportunity to be a part of a program of this magnitude alone has been a privilege. I had the opportunity to work under one of the greatest coaches in the game. Now I am excited by the chance to display my love and passion for the game.”
A native of the Salt Lake Valley, Grayer played high school basketball at Copper Hills High School, leading the Grizzlies with All-Region performances as a junior and senior. She began her collegiate playing career with the Bruins, earning Academic All-Region 18 honors as a freshman and sophomore. Grayer concluded her playing career at Dixie State University in St. George and helped lead DSU to its only NCAA tournament appearance in 2011.
After graduating with a degree in criminal justice from Dixie State, Grayer began her coaching career locally by working as a high school basketball coach at Highland High School and Copper Hills. She also worked in the collegiate ranks at Feather River College as an assistant women’s basketball coach and the head track-and-field coach. She rejoined Specketer at Salt Lake before the 2013-14 season. In her time as an assistant coach, the Bruins have qualified for six NJCAA tournaments, won three Region 18 tournaments and claimed at least a share of six-consecutive Scenic West Athletic Conference regular-season titles.
Besides the team success, Grayer was honored by the WBCA as a member of the “Thirty-under-30” class after the 2017-18 season, recognizing the top women’s basketball coaches under the age of 30. She also serves on the NJCAA Board-of-Regents, serving the Scenic West as an at-large representative.
“I believe Marci is one of the great young coaches in the business,” said Dustin, who served as an assistant men’s basketball coach at Utah State University earlier in his career. “She has been well-mentored and is committed to the welfare and growth of our student-athletes. While we all will miss Coach Specketer, I am extremely confident that Marci can continue the tremendous success we have had these past six years.”
As an assistant coach at Salt Lake, Grayer has worked in a variety of different capacities. As a basketball coach, she has focused her efforts on recruiting, scheduling and strength-and-conditioning. She has also served the department as an eligibility coordinator and academic advisor.
Dustin said Grayer’s overall experience is an asset to the women’s basketball program and the overall department.
“Marci is not only an excellent basketball coach; she is a strong part of our administrative team,” he said. “She leads our compliance efforts and has agreed to keep this responsbility as she takes on the mantle of head women’s basketball coach.”
Grayer said her coaching tenure will be student-athlete focused.
“I will treat our student-athletes as the young women I want to help shape and mold into being,” she said. “At the end of the day, it’s much bigger than the game of basketball. I want to teach our student-athletes how to be accountable young women.”
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