Le Moyne College announced on Wednesday afternoon that head women’s basketball coach Gina Castelli will retire after eight years in charge of the Dolphins.
“It has been an honor and a privilege to be the head women’s basketball coach at Le Moyne College!” said Castelli. “Le Moyne has had a profound impact on my life and career! I am a much better person and coach because of my experience here!”
Castelli retires following 30 years as a collegiate head coach, during which time she posted a record of 458-376, including a mark of 122-80 (.604) in seven seasons (eight years) leading the Dolphins. Her 122 victories are the second-most in the program’s history, while she is the only one of the five Dolphin coaches in the program’s history to register a winning record. In her time in charge of the Dolphins, she had three WBCA All-America Honorable Mention selections, two players earn major awards from the Northeast-10 Conference, three earn first team all-conference honors, two collect second team accolades, four named to the third team and three tabbed honorable mention, in addition to a pair of all-rookie team selections.
“On behalf of Le Moyne College’s Athletic Department, I would like to extend our deepest gratitude to Coach Castelli for her eight years of service in leading our women’s basketball program to an unprecedented level of success and excellence during her tenure,” said Interim Athletics Director Tim Fenton. “Our entire staff sends our congratulations, as well as our best wishes, as she moves into this next chapter of her life. Gina has had a tremendous impact and positive influence on the lives of countless student-athletes and coaching staff members through her mentorship. She has been instrumental in the development and implementation of our department’s Inside the L culture and her caring presence will be greatly missed.”
The crowning moment of her time on the Heights came when she led the Dolphins to the 2018-19 Northeast-10 Conference tournament championship. After winning the Southwest Division with a 15-5 record and finishing the regular season with a program record-tying 21 victories, the Dolphins went on to defeat top-seeded and 12th-ranked Bentley University in dominating fashion, 67-45, to capture the program’s first conference tournament championship. Le Moyne was rewarded with the fourth seed in the NCAA Tournament East Region and went on to record the first and second NCAA tournament wins in the program’s history to advance to the East Region championship game. The historic run came to an end in a hard-fought two-point loss to Saint Anselm in the East Region championship game. Junior McKayla Roberts was named the Regional MVP, becoming the first member of the non-winning team to be awarded the honor.
Castelli added, “I would like to thank President Dr. Linda LeMura for her unwavering support throughout my time here on the Heights; former Director of Athletics, Matt Bassett, and Interim Director of Athletics, Tim Fenton, for believing in our vision and supporting us through it! Thank you also to incoming Director of Athletics, Bob Beretta, who has been instrumental in easing this transition.”
“Special thanks to the entire Athletic Department, the camaraderie that exists and the genuine support for each other made every day a pleasure to go to work!”
“Mostly, I would like to express my deepest gratitude to every single player that played for me at Le Moyne and every assistant coach that worked with me! I am extremely grateful for the effort you put forth every day because you believed in the vision of our program! I am proud of what we have been able to build and what we have accomplished! To say that I will miss coaching my beloved ‘Phins is an understatement! I will forever be cheering us on! All in! All One! All Dolphins!”
Following the record-setting 2018-19 season, the Dolphins went 19-9 in 2019-20, including a mark of 14-5 in NE10 play, and earned their second consecutive NCAA Championships berth (third overall). The Dolphins advanced to the NE10 semifinals for the fourth straight year, the longest active streak in the conference. In the quarterfinals, which proved to be Castelli’s final career game at Ted Grant Court, the Dolphins knocked off Bentley University for the fourth straight matchup. The contest ended up being the final game in the historic career of Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame coach Barbara Stevens. After Le Moyne went just 2-25 against Stevens and the Falcons prior to 2014, Castelli led the Dolphins to a 5-5 record against Bentley, seen as the gold standard in Division II women’s basketball, including wins in each of the final four meetings.
Castelli took over the Dolphins on April 19, 2013 and in her first season led the Dolphins to a 15-13 overall record, a nine-win improvement from the previous season. The Dolphins earned a berth into the NE10 Championships and defeated Saint Anselm in the first round for the program’s first postseason win since 2008. Le Moyne’s 15 wins tied the 2007-08 and 2008-09 seasons for the most since the 2001-02 team won 20 games and advanced to the NCAA Tournament.
In her second year on the Heights, the Dolphins went 17-14, including their second straight 10-10 record in Northeast-10 play. The Dolphins earned their second consecutive berth into the NE10 Championships and defeated Merrimack College in the first round for the program’s first postseason road victory since 2002. The 17 wins were the fourth-most in the program’s 39-year history and were the most since the 2001-02 season.
Castelli came to Le Moyne after spending the 2012-13 season as the women’s basketball program’s Director of Player Development at the University of Rhode Island, a Division I program in the Atlantic 10 Conference.
Prior to her stint at URI, Castelli served as the head women’s basketball coach at Division-I Siena College for 22 seasons. Castelli, the winningest basketball coach in Siena history, registered a record of 336-296 (.532) over her 22 seasons in charge of the Saints, including a mark of 225-146 (.606) in Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) action, at the time the third-most wins in the conference’s history. Named the MAAC Coach of the Year five times (1991, ’94, ’98, ’01 and ’02) and the New York State Coach of the Year twice (1991 and 1999), she led the Saints to seven MAAC Regular Season Championships (1994, ’98, ’99, ’01, ’02, ’03 and ’04), while winning the MAAC Tournament championship during the 2000-01 season.
The Saints won at least 20 games seven times during her tenure in Loudonville. Additionally, Siena made four postseason appearances, including berths in the NCAA Tournament in 2001 and the Women’s National Invitation Tournament (WNIT) in 1999, 2002 and 2003. In the 1999 WNIT, the Saints hosted and defeated Georgetown of the BIG EAST, while hosting and topping Seton Hall, also of the BIG EAST, in 2003. The 2002-03 squad set a program record by winning 25 games, while Castelli guided the 2001-02 team to a program-record 19 consecutive victories.
Prior to assuming the reins of the Siena program as the fourth-youngest coach in Division I at the time (27), Castelli served as an assistant coach for the Saints for the 1989-90 season. During the 1986-87 season, Castelli was an assistant coach at Marquette University under her collegiate coach, Sister Maria Pares.
Castelli, who graduated from Canisius College in 1986 with a B.S. in Physical Education/Athletic Training and a K-12 Teaching Certification, was a four-year letterwinner for the Golden Griffs. She completed her career as the second-leading scorer in the history of the program (1,524 points, currently 5th). At the time of her graduation, Castelli made the most field goals (682, eclipsed in 2002, still 2nd), had the top free-throw percentage (82.9, surpassed in 2009, still 3rd), dished out the most assists (578, exceeded in 1993, still 3rd) and recorded the most steals (273, topped in 1993, still tied for 4th) in the program’s history. Additionally, Castelli still holds the record for the most assists in a single-season, 218, which she dished out in 1983-84. A 1997 and 2012 (for her 1982-83 team’s accomplishments) inductee into the Golden Griffin Hall of Fame, Castelli earned Academic All-America accolades during her playing career.
The College will immediately begin a search for its next head coach. No further comment will be provided on the search until its completion.
https://lemoynedolphins.com/news/2021/4/28/wbbCastelliRetirement.aspx
