Mary Baldwin’s Matt Griggs resigns as men’s basketball coach after four seasons

STAUNTON — After starting the men’s basketball program at Mary Baldwin University and leading it for four years, Matt Griggs has resigned to become the head coach at Lake Forest College in suburban Chicago.

“What the men’s basketball team accomplished under Coach Griggs is nothing short of amazing,” said Director of Athletics Tom Byrnes. “He recruited the right players that would fit his program on and off the court and the players bought into his coaching style, academic expectations, community partnership activities, family support, everything. It was great to watch the players grow and ultimately, the team and University were rewarded with a championship season in 2023-24.”

Mary Baldwin won the USA South tournament championship this past season, advancing to the NCAA Division III men’s basketball tournament in only its third season as a varsity sport.

After one season as a club team, the Fighting Squirrels then launched the varsity program in 2021-22. Griggs led Mary Baldwin to eight wins that first season. The team improved each of the next two years, going 14-12 in 2022-23 before a 17-11 season this past year. Overall, Griggs was 39-36 in three seasons of varsity basketball.

A 2013 graduate of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, Griggs played basketball all four years and captained the team as a senior.

Prior to being named the head coach at Mary Baldwin, Griggs served for four seasons as an assistant coach and later the associate head coach at Roanoke College. He began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at NCAA Division I Winthrop University in 2013-14 and served as the program’s video coordinator the next two seasons.

Lake Forest is a member of the NCAA Division III Midwest Conference. The school has not had a winning record since the 2018-19 season. That season Lake Forest advanced to the NCAA Tournament.

“I am extremely excited to be named the next head men’s basketball coach at Lake Forest College,” Griggs said in a statement posted on the school’s website. “I am looking forward to working with our student-athletes and coaches to build upon the tradition of Lake Forest College basketball, and to have a program that our alumni, the college, and the Lake Forest community will be proud of.”

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— Patrick Hite is The News Leader’s education reporter. Story ideas and tips always welcome. Contact Patrick (he/him/his) at phite@newsleader.com and follow him on Twitter @Patrick_Hite. Subscribe to us at newsleader.com.

This article originally appeared on Staunton News Leader: Matt Griggs leaves Mary Baldwin to become Lake Forest basketball coach