Marist University Athletics

Recruiting Areas: Maryland (Western & Eastern), West Virginia, Pennsylvania (Western), Delaware, Washington DC

James Groce is in his sixth year on the Marist football coaching staff in 2023. He has served as defensive line coach during his entire tenure, and became recruiting coordinator in 2019.

In the 2022 season, Aaron Acosta was named First Team All-PFL as a defensive end. Acosta led the Red Foxes with four-and-a-half sacks, and also totaled seven-and-a-half stops for loss and 74 total tackles.

Groce's recruiting efforts helped the Red Foxes sign their largest incoming class in 10 years for the fall of 2021. In the 2020-21 school year, Groce became co-advisor to Marist's Black Student-Athlete Alliance, and joined Marist's IDEA Committee.

On the defensive line, Aaron Acosta was a named a Freshman All-American by Phil Steele Publications following the 2019 season. In 2018, Groce helped Enmanuel Soriano earn Second Team All-PFL honors, while Eric Taylor and Eddie Zinn-Turner were both named Honorable Mention Alll-PFL. Soriano led the Red Foxes in total tackles, tackles for loss, and sacks.
 
Groce coached the previous three seasons at West Virginia State University, where he served as the program’s defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator. He had significant experience recruiting Virginia and Maryland.
 
Prior to his tenure at West Virginia State, Groce was defensive line and wide receivers coach at Concord High School in Wilmington, Delaware.
 
Groce began his collegiate career at Coastal Carolina University, and then transferred to West Chester University, where he was a mainstay on the team’s defensive line for three seasons. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in 2014 in Exercise Science. Groce then earned his Master's degree from Marist in the spring of 2021 in Integrated Marketing Communication.
 
Groce originally hails from Newark, Delaware, and played scholastically at Caravel Academy.