Salt Lake Community College has promoted Marcilina Grayer as the successor to longtime women’s basketball coach Betsy Specketer, the school announced.

Grayer, a graduate of Copper Hills High School, SLCC and Dixie State University, assisted Specketer for six seasons. The Bruins made the NJCAA tournament field each year and once advanced to the semifinals.

Specketer recently announced her retirement after 23 seasons as SLCC’s coach with 545 victories, ranking No. 2 all-time for a basketball coach at one college in Utah.

The Women’s Basketball Coaches Association last year named Grayer one of the nation’s top 30 coaches under age 30. She coached at Highland High and Copper Hills before becoming an assistant at Feather River College in California and then joined the SLCC staff in 2013. Kevin Dustin became the Bruins’ athletic director a year later.

“I have observed her interaction with our teams over the past five years and have been impressed with her understanding of the game and her ability to coach young women,” Dustin said in a school news release. “She is a dedicated student of basketball and has done much over the past few years to prepare her for this opportunity. … I believe Marci is one of the best young coaches in the business.”

Grayer said, “I had the opportunity to work under one of the greatest coaches in the game. Now I am excited by the chance to display my love and passion for the game."