LOCK HAVEN, Pa. – Head coach Mike Nestor and the Lock Haven men's basketball program shifts from the Eastern Division to the Western Division this season and the Bald Eagles were picked to finish ninth in the Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) preseason poll.

The Bald Eagles return to the PSAC West which was home until conference realignment shifted the school to the East prior to the 2012-13 season.



Lock Haven returns redshirt junior forward Blake Deegan to lead the Bald Eagles in the front court. Deegan led the team last season in rebounds per game (6.3), blocks (29) and double-doubles (four) while shooting 47.2% from the field.
Senior guard Dean Coleman-Newsome also returns after averaging 11.3 points per game a season ago. Coleman-Newsome also added 112 rebounds and 90 assists in 29 games of action.

Along with Deegan and Coleman-Newsome, sophomore guards Devon Nelson and Mike Green along with junior guard/forward Chris Cornish return to bolster a backcourt that is one of Nestor's deepest in recent memory.

Lock Haven will look to that deep roster to replace the production of recent graduates Dyllon Scott and Keith Warren who led the team in scoring a year ago.  

Junior college transfer guard Damani Barley, is joined by four freshman guards as Nestor welcomes five newcomers to the roster 2026-27 season.  

The conference opener is in the friendly confines of Thomas Fieldhouse on Friday, Dec. 4, at 7:30 p.m. against Mansfield.

Lock Haven opens the season Monday, Nov. 9, at 7 p.m. against Penn State Scranton at Thomas Fieldhouse in Lock Haven, Pa.

PSAC West Men's Basketball Preseason Poll

1. Gannon (8)
2. IUP
3. California (1)
4. Slippery Rock
5. Seton Hill
6. Pitt-Johnstown
7. Edinboro
8. Clarion
9. Lock Haven