Director of Athletics and Physical Education Michelle Walsh has announced the hiring of Meredith Mesaris as the next Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Vassar College. Mesaris joins the Vassar staff following assistant coaching stops at Dartmouth College, Williams College, and most recently the University of Hartford.
During her time at Hartford, Mesaris assisted and collaborated with the transition from Division I to Division III, which involves changes throughout the operational staff, roster and development of a program entering a new conference. She was responsible for creating a detailed recruiting plan along with identifying potential prospects in the recruiting trail. Mesaris also helped with film breakdown and analysis to prepare for games.
“We’re thrilled that Meredith will be leading our women’s basketball program here at Vassar. She has had a tremendous amount of success as both a student-athlete and assistant coach within Division III”, said Walsh. “We’re looking forward to her utilizing those experiences to elevate our program to national prominence while also serving as a positive role model for our students as they grow and develop as scholar-athletes.”, said Walsh.
Prior to Mesaris’ stint with the Hawks, she spent a season as an assistant coach at Dartmouth College from 2021-22. Mesaris was heavily involved in the nationwide effort to identify future student-athletes that could be successful with the academic rigors of Dartmouth. Meredith worked primarily with the post players, as well as having responsibilities in nearly every aspect of the program, from scouting and video to recruiting and practice planning and execution.
Mesaris spent five seasons as an assistant at Williams College from 2016-21, where she was responsible for in-game management, play calling, in-game strategy and tactical revisions. Mesaris was part of the team’s first Sweet 16 appearance since 2013 during the 2019-20 season as well as the first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2016. She was also heavily included in the recruiting of all Williams College student-athletes and was responsible for the planning and execution of all practice plans.
“I am beyond thrilled and honored to be named the next head women’s basketball coach at Vassar College. The success of this program, in addition to the incredible academic prestige of the college, make this a dream come true for me. I would like to thank Director of Athletics and Physical Education Michelle Walsh and the entire search committee for having confidence in me to lead this outstanding program. I’m so excited for the opportunity to coach these talented student athletes” , stated Mesaris.
“I look forward to working with the entire Vassar administration, staff and most importantly, getting involved in our community. I want to give a shout out to the many coaches, trainers, friends, and mentors who prepared me for this outstanding opportunity. I am excited to apply the many lessons learned from them in my new journey with Vassar Women’s Basketball. I am forever grateful.”
Mesaris began her coaching career at Hendrix College in 2015 as she helped the team improve from a sub .500 record to a 19-7 record. Mesaris mentored two All-Southern Athletic Association players as well as one conference Player of the Year and an All-American selection.
Mesaris was a four-year starter for the University of Scranton from 2012-15 and holds countless records in both the Landmark Conference as well as in Scranton history. She concluded her career with 1,758 points, which is the best mark all-time in Landmark Conference history and averaged 17.9 points per game in her illustrious career. Mesaris was named the Landmark Conference Player of the Year in 2015 and was named to the WBCA All-American team twice. She also was named First Team All-Mid-Atlantic Region by D3Hoops in 2015 and was a Third-Team All-American in the same season.
Mesaris also collected multiple academic honors in her four years as a Lady Royal as she was named to the Landmark Conference Academic Honor Roll three times and was honored as the Women’s Basketball Senior Scholar Athlete for the 2014-15 academic year. She was also named to the COSIDA District IV All-Academic team twice in 2014 and 2015 and garnered a Second Team Academic All-American selection in 2015.
Mesaris graduated Magna Cum Laude from the University of Scranton in 2015 with a bachelor’s degree in Management with a minor in Coaching. She earned her master’s degree from Southern New Hampshire University in 2020 in Sports Management.
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