Head Coach Heath Stover
Entering 9th season at Lock Haven: 110-190-1 overall
For Heath "Smoke" Stover, a name synonymous with Lock Haven baseball, the 2026 season will mark his ninth as the head coach.
-The 2025 season by the numbers:
In Stover's eighth season, the Bald Eagles returned to the PSAC West for the first time since 2013.
The Bald Eagles opened the season a perfect 4-0, their best start in program history. Following the weekend, Nathan Wise (Hitter) and Matt Lingenfelter (Pitcher) swept the National College Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Hitter/Pitcher of the Week. The duo also swept the PSAC West Athlete of the Week awards.
The Haven would go on to start the season 6-0 before suffering its first defeat.
On Feb. 25, Garrett Starr brought home the Bald Eagles' second PSAC Pitcher of the Week honor. Jason Labrador followed suite with his first PSAC West Pitcher of the Week honor on March 31.
On March 28, the Bald Eagles swept the 12th-ranked team in the country Seton Hill, on the road, 1-0 and 5-1.
Following the season, Bryce Vincent was named to the Second Team All-PSAC West as a shortstop.
Morgan Billotte, Nathan Wise and Garrett Starr were honored for their work in the classroom as members of the College Sports Communicators (CSC) Academic All-District Team.
The Haven finished 17-31 overall and 7-20 in the PSAC West.
-The 2024 season by the numbers:
Stover entered his seventh season as the leader of the Lock Haven baseball program in 2024.
Featuring one of the toughest schedules in the country, the Bald Eagles finished 11-34 overall, but were not short of individual success.
Zachary McEllroy (Emmaus, Pa./Emmaus) was named the PSAC Eastern Division Freshman of the Year and All-PSAC East Second Team.
McEllroy in the first Bald Eagle to earn PSAC East Freshman of the Year since Scott Leitholf in 2018. McEllroy also landed on the Second Team All-PSAC East as an outfielder.
On Feb. 13, 2024, starting pitcher
Matt Lingenfelter was named National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) Atlantic Region Pitcher of the Week.
- The 2023 season by the numbers:
The 2023 season was the sixth for Stover at the helm of the Lock Haven baseball program.
The Bald Eagles racked up an impressive 20 victories over the course of the season, including a pair of upset victories over No. 9 West Chester and an-upset win over No. 19 ESU on the final day of the regular season.
Lock Haven finished 8-15 in the PSAC East.
Following the season, Gavin Troutman was named to the All-PSAC Eastern Division First Team as an Infielder.
Garrett Nepert was named an Academic All-American.
- The 2022 season by the numbers:
The 2022 season was not without its high notes and in just the opening weeks of the season the Bald Eagles saw two players earn NCBWA Regional Athlete of the Week honors. On February 8,
Jake Mastillo the honors after smashing four homeruns in three games, and
Kevin Worek notched pitcher of the week after his complete game one-hitter shutout, which included 13 strikeouts.
In the postseason, the Bald Eagles saw Mastillo earn Second-Team All-East Division honors from the PSAC, and 14 student athletes named PSAC Scholar-Athletes.
A deeper look at Coach Stover’s profile:
The 2021 season presented positive showings for what proved to be a young and talented LHU squad.
Sophomore star shortstop Gavin Troutman earned All-PSAC Second Team honors following the campaign. He started all 28 games for Lock Haven and posted a .905 fielding percentage while also batting .308 to boost his .349 on base percentage.
Sophomore Justin Lichtenwalner paced LHU’s offense. He posted a sterling .346 batting average on 81 at bats, notching 28 hits and 13 RBIs. He also led the team in on base percentage (.461) thanks to his team-high 19 walks.
The Bald Eagles, under the leadership of head coach Heath Stover will look to return to their winning ways in 2022.
The 2020 season led to a shortened slate for the Bald Eagles who managed five wins in non-conference play over a twelve-game stretch. The team knocked off Virginia State under Stover’s leadership in their final game of the shortened season.
In 2020, Redshirt Junior Isaac Porter was instrumental in the early going for LHU, as he recorded 86 put-outs and a .721 OPS. It was freshman Jake Mastillo that yielded the golden bat for the team as he managed a .308 batting average and a team high seven RBIs.
In 2019, LHU went 19-25-1 overall (12-16 PSAC East) and Lock Haven produced a winning record in 2018 – Stover’s first season as head coach – thanks to an overall run of 22-19 (12-14 PSAC East).
Highlighting the 2019 season was standout Liam McArthur. The standout outfielder was named to three different All-Region Teams. McArthur was also an All-PSAC selection in 2019. In 2019, ace Scott Leitholf, the 2018 PSAC East Freshman of the Year, recorded 63 strikeouts.
The Bald Eagles closed the 2019 season in style, thanks to a split with No. 6 Millersville.
The 2019 Season by the Numbers - -
In 2018, the first season for Stover as head coach
(interim head coach), Lock Haven posted a 22-19 (12-14 PSAC) record.
Stover helped place two Bald Eagles - Cayden Stover and Nick Stotler - on the 2018 American Baseball Coaches Association (ABCA)/Rawlings NCAA Division II All-Region Team. Stover (Sr.) earned Atlantic Region First Team honors at second base while Stotler (R-Jr.) earned Second Team honors in the outfield.
In all, The Haven placed seven players on the 2018 PSAC All-Conference Teams, including Scott Leiholf who earned PSAC East Freshman of the Year honors. Cayden Stover, Liam McArthur, Breton LaRose, and Kolby DeHaas all earned First Team honors. Nick Stotler and Justin Sleigh joined Leitholf on the Second Team.
The Bald Eagles got off to a hot start in 2019 and burst into the top of the Atlantic Region rankings and into the national rankings for the first time school history.
Stover takes over:
- On January 9, 2018, Heath "Smokey" Stover was named the interim head coach. Stover had previously spent 20s season as the Bald Eagles top assistant.
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- Following that successful season in 2018, the interim tag was taken off and Stover was named the head coach (June 1, 2018).
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Longtime assistant coach and former standout player:
Stover assisted the program in all phases of its operation, including top-level recruiting.
Stover was instrumental in the program’s historic 2017 season, a season in which LHU returned to the PSAC Tournament and won a school-record 32 games.
From 2015-17, as the assistant coach, Stover worked primarily with the pitchers. Under Stover's leadership, a trio of Bald Eagle pitchers from the 2017 rotation reached the professional ranks over the summer including Jacob Belinda, who was selected by the Atlanta Braves in the 10th Round of the 2017 MLB Draft.
Stover is a noted clinician and has strong local and regional recruiting networks.
Prior to joining the staff as an assistant coach, Stover served as a student-assistant coach in the 1997 season. In that year, Stover helped guide the Bald Eagles to an impressive 27-15-2 overall record and 13-7-0 mark in the PSAC West.
Stover is a 1997 graduate of LHU, earning a bachelor's degree in health and physical education. In 2009, he earned his master's in teaching and learning.
As a player at LHU, Stover was a standout and still ranks among the top-10 in several of the school's all-time offensive categories. Stover played for LHU from 1993-96. He appeared in 150 games while starting 146. His career batting average was .298 (129-433) with 86 RBI and 79 runs scored. He racked up 27 doubles, four triples and 12 homeruns over his four year career.
Stover resides locally with his wife Jen along with their three daughters Alyssa, Katelyn, and Sophia. He also proudly follows in his father Paul "Smokey" Stover's footsteps. His father served as head baseball coach at LHU for 25 seasons.
*Updated August 5, 2025
