Effective Wednesday, May 13, 2026, Manhattan University has hired Rob Grella to take control of the women's lacrosse program, announced by Director of Athletics Irma Garcia. 

"We're so excited to add Coach Rob Grella to the Jasper family. He brings a national championship pedigree to our program, following record-breaking tenures at Dominican and Adelphi. We are confident in his ability to recruit and develop Division I caliber student-athletes to Manhattan University, leveraging his deep-rooted network and reputation within the NYC metro lacrosse community," said Garcia. 

Grella spent the last six seasons as head coach at Division II Dominican University in nearby Orangeburg, N.Y., just across the Hudson River. There, he led the Chargers to an 80-17 record including three consecutive Central Athletic Collegiate Conference (CACC) Championships in 2023, 2024, and 2025.

In addition, he has earned Dominican a berth to the NCAA Division II Women's Lacrosse Championship in back-to-back seasons, winning the program's first-ever game in the national tournament, defeating Molloy University 19-7 in 2025. That season also denoted the most wins in program history with 19. 

Prior to spearheading the Chargers, Grella led Adelphi University's program for three seasons, compiling a stellar resume of 46 wins and only six losses, including a 34-2 mark within Northeast-10 Conference play and three NCAA Final Four appearances. Most importantly, he coached the Panthers to their sixth national championship in 2014, leading the Brown and Gold to an undefeated 22-0 record. 

As a player for Adelphi from 1995-97, Grella left a lasting impression, scoring 59 goals in 1996, still standing as sixth on the all-time list despite the program's continued championship success. In addition, his 140 goals across three seasons remain in fifth place in program history. 

Outside of coaching at the collegiate level, he served as program director for Team 91 Lacrosse within Dynamic Sports from 2017-2025. Through managing travel teams along with camps and prospect days, 90% of his athletes were placed into collegiate programs by facilitating the recruiting process.