With the introduction of women’s basketball as a varsity sport at Maritime, Cheri Eleazer was brought in as the team’s first head coach. She will build the program and shape the roster, with the hopes of putting a competitive team on the floor as soon as possible. In addition to her role as head women’s basketball coach, Eleazer is in charge of the strength & conditioning efforts for each of Maritime’s varsity teams.
This is Eleazer’s second stint at Maritime. She was an assistant coach on the football staff, working primarily with the H-backs, during the 2017 season.
Eleazer graduated Longwood High School as the program’s all-time leading scorer, and she was inducted into Longwood’s Hall of Fame in 2003. She played collegiately at the University of Hartford, helping the Hawks earn their first-ever America East Conference title and NCAA Tournament appearance in 2002. Eleazer was honored as the America East Rookie of the Week during her freshman season, then led Hartford in both assists and steals as a sophomore. Upon graduating in 2004, she went on to play semi-professionally in the National Women’s Basketball League.
She began her coaching career as an assistant at Nassau Community College in 2004-05 before joining the staff at St. Joseph’s LI, where she was also the strength & conditioning coach, in 2005. Eleazer then moved up to the Division I level as the Director of Operations for the women’s basketball program at Hofstra University. During her time at Hofstra, the Pride set a program record for wins. From 2010-12, Eleazer was an assistant women’s basketball coach, focusing on the guards, and strength & conditioning coach at the University of Maryland Baltimore County (UMBC).
While coaching college basketball, Eleazer was also a member of the New York Sharks women’s professional football team. A key defensive player for the Sharks, she was twice selected to play on the USA Flag Football team (2012, 2014).
Upon her retirement as a player, Eleazer focused on mentoring high school athletes. She guided players such as Shamarla King, Amaya Mitchell-Howard and Amanda Zdru, helping to usher them on to outstanding college careers. In addition, Eleazer has coached with the Gauchos, CT Elite and Swarm AAU basketball programs.
