Moving on: Niagara baseball coach Rob McCoy, Daemen volleyball’s Don Gleason

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — A pair of coaches have parlayed winning seasons locally into new jobs out of state.

Rob McCoy resigned his position as Niagara University baseball coach to take over at William and Mary College after leading the Purple Eagles to their first NCAA tournament appearance, while Hamburg native Don Gleason is leaving the Daemen University men’s volleyball program he started six seasons go to coach at Purdue University Fort Wayne.

While Daemen will conduct a national search for its next men’s volleyball coach, Niagara named longtime assistant and recruiting coordinator Matt Spatafora as its interim baseball coach.

McCoy led the Niagara program for 19 years after spending three seasons as an assistant. He won 299 games and had has most success this past season, setting a program record with 37 victories and earning Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference coach of the year recognition.

“Niagara University will forever hold a special place in my heart. This was my first full time coaching job. I grew up here as a person and a professional. We had hard times and times greater than we could ever imagine. I met my wife and started a family” McCoy said in a news release.

McCoy will replace former Canisius and Niagara coach Mike McRae at William and Mary.

Gleason coached Daemen to winning seasons in each of the past five years after he and former athletics director Bridget Niland worked to secure a $60,000 grant from the First Point Volleyball Foundation to start the program. The Wildcats went 20-6 and reached the Northeast Conference championship match in 2024.

“I want to thank Daemen University and the leadership in the Division of Athletics, both past and present, for giving me the opportunity to build the men’s volleyball program over these last seven years,” Gleason said in a news release. “It has been a privilege to work here and the experience has helped to shape my coaching philosophy. Because of the strong nucleus of student-athletes returning and the University’s commitment to the program, I’m confident that the program will continue to have success for the foreseeable future.”

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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here .