Albany, NY—Russell Sage College's Director of Athletics Jim Lyons has announced the selection of Rob Bray (Syracuse, NY) as the new head women's lacrosse coach. He will begin his appointment on January 10, 2023.
Lyons commented, "I am extremely excited to welcome Rob Bray to the Russell Sage Family." Lyons added, " Rob brings with him a deep knowledge of the game of women's lacrosse, a passion for recruiting high-quality student-athletes and a demonstrated history of successful program building. I am certain that Rob has the ability to lead our women's lacrosse program to consistent success in the Empire 8, while maintaining our history of academic excellence and commitment to community service. "
Bray commented, "I am really excited to join the Sage family!" He added, "I would like to thank Director of Athletics Jim Lyons, the search committee, Senior Associate Director of Undergraduate Enrollment Management Gabrielle Maisonet, VP for Student and Campus Life Trish Cellemme and the lacrosse team for the opportunity to share my vision for the program and their belief in me to build something special. I would also like to thank my family for their continued support. Go Gators!"
Bray arrives at RSC after serving four years as the assistant women's lacrosse coach for the Division I Vanderbilt University Commodores. His resume and success in the coaching ranks is extensive and he brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the game of women's lacrosse.
In his year with the Vanderbilt program in 2019, he led the offense and by year's end, the team had a 10-6 record, marking the program's first winning season in nine years. Vanderbilt ranked No. 7 in the nation in assists, No. 12 in points per game and atop the conference in shots per game.
In a shortened 2020 season, Bray's offense averaged 13.22 goals per game and ranked second in the conference in points and assists per game.
In 2021, Bray helped lead the Commodores to the NCAA Tournament and guided the offense that saw one player set the single-game, season and career assists record.
Bray brought nearly three decades of coaching experience to West End, including 13 seasons as an associate head coach and assistant coach at the University of Oregon.
For four seasons, Bray served as head coach for the lacrosse and field hockey programs at St. Mary's College (Md.).
Bray was also the director of player development in the Willamette Valley for Lacrosse Northwest (OR), and head coach of Churchill High School girls' lacrosse program in 2017 and 2018, leading them to back-to-back league titles and state playoff berths.
A native of Syracuse, New York, Bray graduated from Potsdam in 1991, and has two daughters.
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