After a nationwide search, Mary Baldwin University has announced the addition of Bradley Rideout as head coach of the Fighting Squirrels women’s basketball program.
Rideout, originally from Chambersburg, Pa., joins the Mary Baldwin athletic program from Paul Smith’s College in Paul Smith’s, N.Y., where he’s been the head coach of the women’s team for three years and served as the interim head coach for the men’s team for the past two years.
I want to thank Dr. Jeffery Stein, Athletic Director Tom Byrnes, Associate Athletic Director Christy Shelton and the search committee for what I feel is a great opportunity,” Rideout said. “My family and I are truly grateful to become part of the Mary Baldwin University community.”
In three seasons, his Paul Smith’s women’s teams reached double digits in wins each year and compiled a cumulative record of 35-35.
In his career, he’s been a head basketball coach on the scholastic or collegiate level since 2002.
Rideout inherits a program that was suspended by the University for the 2024-25 season because the roster included only a handful of players after starting each of the past two years with just nine players. His goal is to return the program to the competitive levels of the 2019-22 seasons, when the Fighting Squirrels qualified for the conference playoffs four straight seasons.
“Coach Rideout has the enthusiasm and the experience to build a very strong program in the USA South Athletic Conference,” said MBU Director of Athletics Tom Byrnes. “His responsibilities this season are primarily to recruit to re-start the program in 2024-25, then return the program to its playoff levels in future years.”
Prior to his stint at Paul Smith’s, Rideout has been the head women’s basketball coach at Green Mountain (Vt.) College and held positions as the men’s assistant basketball coach at Messiah College and at NCAA Division II Shippensburg University. At Green Mountain, a former NCAA Division III program, Rideout helped the team increase its win total each year.
Early in his career, Rideout was the head scholastic coach at Chambersburg (Pa.), Greencastle (Pa.), North Hagerstown (Md.) and Mill River (Vt.) high schools.
Rideout has experience building the team culture that focuses on academic success and student-athletes completing their degrees. “I am looking forward to working with the Mary Baldwin student-athletes and their families to help them grow on and off the court,” Rideout said.
In addition to extensive recruiting experience, Rideout has also contributed to institutional/team fundraising.
Rideout earned his B.S. (2010) and M.S. (2013) degrees in psychology at the University of Phoenix.
Tagged with: D3 USA South
