Mary Grimes on Wake Up Call With Dan Tortora 4/27/24
Mary Grimes completed her first year as the head coach at Binghamton University in 2024-25.
She arrived from LeMoyne College, where she was the head coach the previous three seasons and was named the Northeast Conference (NEC) Coach of the Year for the 2023-24 season.
After nearly two decades as an assistant coach, Grimes made the most of three seasons at the helm of the LeMoyne program. Her record was 56-30 and she led the Dolphins to a national post-season tournament appearance each year.
The 2023-24 season was the Dolphins’ first at the NCAA Division I level and Grimes guided that transition in seamless fashion. She led the squad to an 18-15 finish – including a 14-2 conference record and an appearance in the NEC title game. Le Moyne capped off its inaugural Division I campaign with an appearance in the WNIT. With the Dolphins having been picked to finish eighth in their first season in the NEC, they outperformed expectations by claiming six regular-season sweeps and defeating every time in the conference at least once.
Success came equally as much for Grimes during her first two seasons at LeMoyne as she ran up a record of 38-15. Competing at the NCAA Division II level, the Dolphins won two Northeast-10 Conference Regular Season titles and made a pair of appearances in the NCAA Tournament. Following the 2022-23 campaign, during which the Dolphins went 21-7 and won 16 of their final 17 regular season contests, Grimes was named the Northeast-10 Conference Coach of the Year.
Prior to her three-years as the Dolphins head coach, Grimes was an assistant coach at LeMoyne under Jeanne Dupree from 2003-05 and Gina Castelli from 2017-19. In her two-year stint alongside Castelli, she helped the Dolphins to a 43-17 overall record, including a mark of 27-13 in Northeast-10 Conference play. At the time of her departure, both marks were the best in a two-year span in the program’s 23 years in the conference.
From 2019-22, Grimes was an assistant coach at Xavier. She was responsible for scheduling opponents for future seasons, including managing the guarantee-game budget, served as offensive coordinator and scouting coach, identified and recruited potential prospects, led player development of guards, on-floor coaching and assisted with practice and game planning. She was also the academic liaison for the Musketeers with the team GPA rising from a 2.6 to a 3.2 after her hiring.
In between her two stints as an assistant coach with LeMoyne, Grimes was part of the coaching staff at UAlbany from 2010-16. The Great Danes won five consecutive America East Conference Championships from 2012-16 and earned berths in the NCAA Championships each of those five seasons. UAlbany went 146-47 in the six years that Grimes was on the staff, including a mark of 107-23 over the final four seasons.
Prior to her time at UAlbany, Grimes was an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Syracuse University from 2005-10. Grimes was responsible for scouting reports and pre/post-game film breakdown, assisting with strategies and game planning for opponents and on-floor coaching. She was also the liaison for strength and conditioning and monitored student-athlete academic progress.
As recruiting coordinator during her final two seasons at Syracuse, Grimes was responsible for recruiting the Collegiate Girls Basketball Report's eighth-ranked class in 2009. The Orange posted a 16-win improvement from Grimes' first season on the staff (nine wins) to her final season under head coach Quentin Hillsman (25 wins). The Orange earned a berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2008 after going 22-8 prior to the announcement of the tournament field. The Orange appeared in the WNIT in 2009 and advanced to the 2010 WNIT quarterfinals.
Grimes is a 2003 graduate of Siena College, where she earned a Bachelor's of Science degree in marketing and management. Grimes was a four-year member of the Saints' women's basketball team under the direction of Castelli, who was assisted by Hillsman during Grimes' freshman and sophomore seasons.
Grimes started 93 of 119 games played as a Saint, scored 770 points, grabbed 288 rebounds, dished out 220 assists and posted 123 steals. The Saints were the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) regular season champions in 2001, 2002 and 2003 and captured the MAAC Tournament Championship in 2001 to earn a berth in the NCAA Tournament. The Saints appeared in the WNIT in 2002 and 2003, advancing to the second round in 2003.
THE GRIMES FILE
2024-present: Head Coach, Binghamton University
2021-24: Head Coach, LeMoyne College
2019-22: Assistant Coach, Xavier University
2017-19: Assistant Coach, LeMoyne College
2010-17: Assistant Coach, UAlbany
2005-10: Assistant Coach, Syracuse University
2003-05: Assistant Coach, LeMoyne College
