With significant success at every stop in her vast coaching career, Mary Grimes has been selected to be the sixth Division I women’s basketball coach at Binghamton University. Grimes will be formally introduced in a press conference at 2 p.m. Friday at the Events Center.
Grimes, a 21-year coaching veteran, comes directly from Le Moyne College, where she led the Dolphins in a seamless transition to Division I. Grimes coached three seasons at Le Moyne and this past winter, led the team to 18 wins, a 14-2 conference record, runnerup NEC tournament finish and the program’s first-ever WNIT berth. Grimes was chosen as the NEC Coach of the Year by her peers.
“This is a great hire,” Director of Athletics Eugene Marshall, Jr. said. “Mary is a proven winner with a history of recruiting the best and brightest student-athletes. What she did at Albany, Syracuse, Xavier and Le Moyne are true testaments to her ability to be a successful coach at Binghamton. We’re excited to welcome Mary to campus and have her get started developing relationships with the team and hit the ground running.”
In three seasons at Le Moyne, Grimes’ teams averaged 19 wins, won 80 percent of their conference games and played in national postseason tournaments each year. Her 2022 and 2023 teams won Northeast-10 regular season titles and played in the NCAA Division II tournament. She was the 2023 NE-10 Coach of the Year.
Before returning to Le Moyne for her third coaching stint, Grimes spent two seasons as an assistant coach at Xavier University in the BIG EAST.
Bearcat fans will most remember her six-year stint at UAlbany (2010-16), when Grimes helped lead the Great Danes to a dominating championship run at the expense of America East foes. Grimes and the UAlbany coaching staff orchestrated five consecutive America East tournament titles and accompanying NCAA bids. In her last four seasons at UAlbany, the Great Danes went a remarkable 60-4 against conference opponents.
Grimes also produced success in her five years at Syracuse University (2005-10). With Grimes as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator, SU advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2008 and played in the WNIT tournament in 2009 and 2010, reaching the WNIT quarterfinals in 2010.
As a player, Grimes was a four-year starter and two-year captain at Siena College, where she graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing and management in 2003. She led the Saints to three MAAC regular season titles and three postseason tournament berths – a 2001 NCAA tournament appearance and WNIT berths in 2002 and 2003. She totaled 770 career points and 220 assists and ranks among Siena’s all-time top-10 with 109 three-pointers in 119 collegiate games.
In addition to her collegiate playing experience, Grimes also competed for the Adirondack team in the 2001 Empire State Games and led the squad to the gold medal.
A native of Detroit, Mich., Grimes played four years of varsity basketball and earned all-city honors in softball at Communication and Media Arts High School.
Grimes resides in Syracuse with her son Braylen and daughter Mia Ann.
Tagged with: America East
