Lake Forest College Director of Athletics Nicki Pieart announced Tuesday that Matt Griggs has been selected to be the 28th head coach in the history of the Forester men’s basketball program.
“We are extremely excited to have Matt Griggs join our staff,” noted Pieart. “He has a strong Division III background as a player, assistant, and head coach and his success in building the program at Mary Baldwin from its beginning to a conference championship in just a few seasons is very impressive. I have no doubt he is the right person to lead our team and continue to build upon our Tradition of Excellence.”
Griggs spent the last four years as the head coach at Mary Baldwin University. After starting the program during the COVID year of 2020-21, he led the team to a record of 27-15 in USA South Athletic Conference play and a 39-36 mark overall during the last three seasons. The Fighting Squirrels captured a league title, won the conference tournament, and advanced to the NCAA Division III Tournament in 2023-24, their third full season as an NCAA program.
Under the direction of Griggs, Mary Baldwin players earned seven all-conference selections and a dozen academic all-conference honors with the latter total sure to rise when this year’s announcement is made in July. He coached the USA South Rookie of the Year in 2021-22 and was named USA South Coach of the Year in 2024.
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 (Salem, Va.). The Maroons were 71-37 overall and 41-23 in Old Dominion Athletic Conference play during his tenure and advanced to the championship game of the ODAC Tournament in 2018.
Griggs 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.
A 2013 graduate of Centre College in Danville, Kentucky, Griggs played basketball all four years and captained the team as a senior. The Colonels claimed three conference titles and advanced to three NCAA Division III Tournaments during his career and he was named to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Honor Roll twice.
“I am extremely excited to be named the next head men’s basketball coach at Lake Forest College,” began Griggs. “I would like to thank Nicki Pieart, Jackie Slaats, and the rest of the search committee for entrusting me with this opportunity. 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. My family and I can’t wait to make the move to the North Shore! Go Foresters!”
