Head Coach
Mike Nestor
Entering 14th season: 154-197 (All at Lock Haven)
When he took over the program in March 2011, Lock Haven head men’s basketball coach Mike Nestor was charged with rebuilding the Bald Eagle basketball program, and he’s done just that.
Under Nestor’s leadership, the Bald Eagles have become a fixture in the PSAC playoffs, having made their sixth-straight conference playoff appearance this past season in 2024-25.
Overall, the upcoming 2025-26 season will mark Nestor’s 14th as the head coach.
- The 2024-25 season by the numbers:
The Bald Eagles finished the regular season 15-12 overall and 12-9 in the PSAC. Lock Haven earned the No. 5 seed to reach the PSAC Postseason Tournament for the sixth straight season.
The Bald Eagles scored 90-or-more points four times and went an impressive 9-3 overall at home in front of the Thomas Fieldhouse crowd.
Following the season, Eli Washington and Isaiah Stewart were named to the All-PSAC Second Team in the back court.
Washington and Blake Deegan were also honored for their accomplishments in the classroom as members of the 2024-25 CSC Academic All-District Team.
Of note, Washington surpassed the 1,000-career point milestone during the season.
- The 2023-24 season by the numbers:
Nestor helped lead the Bald Eagles to a PSAC Eastern Division Championship after securing a 20-7 overall record and 18-4 conference mark. The East title was the first for the program, while the 18 conference wins is a program best and the 20 overall victories was the most since the 1989-90 season.
The historic season led Nestor to his second PSAC East Coach of the Year honor, after earning his first following the 2013-14 season.
The Bald Eagles won their first PSAC Championship quarterfinal game since 1990 by downing fourth-seeded West Chester in a dominant 100-76 performance.
Justice Shoats was tabbed PSAC East Player of the year, while also being named to the All-PSAC East First Team as a guard. Collin Jones was named to the Second Team as a forward.
- The 2022-23 season by the numbers:
After three straight PSAC Eastern Division Postseason appearances, the Bald Eagles finally broke through with their first postseason victory in 33 years as they upset the No. 4 seeded Millersville University, 66-57, in the quarterfinals.
The Bald Eagles upset the only nationally-ranked team on their schedule, traveling to No. 25 East Stoudsburg and downing the Warriors, 83-75.
Following the season, senior guard Jay Davis was named All-PSAC Second-Team. Davis posted team-highs in both points per game with 14.4 and in three-point shooting with 62 made and a .380 percentage. The guard also grabbed 4.5 rebounds per game and totaled 35 steals on the defensive side.
- 2021-22 season by the numbers:
Following a year of inactivity during the COVID-19 global pandemic, Nestor and the Bald Eagles picked up right where they left off by making a third-straight appearance in the PSAC tournament.
The 2021-22 season was a special one for Coach Nestor as he reached the 100 win club with a win over Shepherd. Nestor currently sits just four wins away from becoming the all-time leader in wins in program history.
On March 4,
Jesse McPherson was named a 2021-22 PSAC All-Conference performer and earned Second-Team honors in the Eastern Division. The Philadelphia-native is second all-time at LHU in blocks with 130, and etched his name in the record books with his stat-stuffing career. McPherson is the only player in the program's history to have over 950 points, 550 rebounds and 100 blocks.
In July, MarkAnthony Fidelis, Adam Freese, Elijah Washington each earned PSAC Scholar-Athlete honors after maintaining a cumulative GPA of at least 3.25 upon completion of the academic year.
- The 2019-20 season by the numbers:
Last season (2019-20) was exciting in many ways as coach Nestor and the Bald Eagles continued to elevate their game. Headlined by a second straight playoff appearance, the Bald Eagles finished the season with an overall 12-15 record and managed a 9-13 record in Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) play.
As a team the Bald Eagles upset two nationally ranked teams for the first time in LHU history. They upset No. 12 West Chester on January 15
th and No. 24 Shippensburg on February 15
th.
Leading the team, Christian Kelly and Matt Cerruti both managed to etch their names into the LHU history books, as the duo reached the 1,000-career point mark. Coincidentally, both players were also named to the All-PSAC first team.
- The 2018-19 season by the numbers:
Looking back at the 2018-2019 season, LHU finished the season at 12-15 overall and went 8-12 in PSAC action. The Bald Eagles made a return trip to the postseason for the first time since the 2016-17 season, but fell in a thrilling upset bid against Shippensburg, 71-70.
Highlighting the year was two players earning All-Conference honors.
Sophomore Matt Cerruti and junior Christian Kelly both earned spots on the 2019 All-Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) Team.
Cerruti, a guard, was named to the First Team and Kelly, a forward, earned a spot on the Second Team.
Cerruti was phenomenal for LHU all season long and led the team in scoring, averaging 20 points per game. That mark was good enough for fourth in the PSAC and his 43.1 percent from beyond the arc was a team-high. Cerruti also shot 80 percent from the free throw line and was a workhorse for the Bald Eagles, totaling a staggering 37.4 minutes per game the third highest mark in the PSAC.
Kelly and Cerruti led the scoring attack all season for The Haven and Kelly finished fifth in the PSAC with 19.4 points per game. Kelly's 67 made 3-pointers were best on the team and his 37.6 percent from beyond the arc was ninth among PSAC qualifiers. Kelly was tremendous on the glass and finished the year ninth in the PSAC with 7.4 rebounds per game, and totaled five double-doubles.
Lock Haven was first in the conference as a team in free throw shooting percentage at 72.7 percent. Highlighting this impressive stat was Noah Warren shooting 83 percent and Cerruti at 80 percent from the stripe.
In a dominating win over Carlow, The Haven scored a season-high 96 points. Cerruti highlighted the offensive explosion with what was at the time a career high 26 points. Cerruti's big night included a stellar 6-9 from beyond the arc.
The Bald Eagles were lights out from downtown, making 14 3-pointers on two separate occasions, wins over Clarion (Dec. 1) and Salem (Feb. 2).
A closer look at the Nestor profile:
The 2017-18 season saw the Bald Eagles finish 8-16 and 6-16 in PSAC play. A record marked by season sweeps over Mansfield and Cheyney in conference action and a 107 point outburst against Penn State Mont Alto.
Lock Haven saw a breakout year from freshman guard Matt Cerruti who averaged 10.9 points per game. Cerruti also led the team with 37 made 3-pointers and shot 39% from behind the arc in the process. Jihad Barnes a redshirt sophomore was second on the team in assists with 2.5 per game and also averaged six points per game.
In 2016-17, the Bald Eagles appeared in the PSAC playoffs for the fourth consecutive year. They joined three other PSAC East teams who have made an appearance in the playoffs over the same span. This is the first time LHU has made four consecutive playoff appearances since the 86-87 to 89-90 seasons.
Lock Haven was led by freshman sensation Amir Hinton who received numerous accolades. Hinton broke the LHU single season scoring record as he averaged 24.2 points per game. That mark led the PSAC and was one of the top marks in all of Division II. His 642 total points broke the PSAC All-Time mark for a freshman.
Hinton was named the PSAC Freshman of the year as well as earning First Team All-Conference. He also made the Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCA) All-Atlantic Region Men's Basketball Team Second Team.
The 2016-17 Bald Eagles qualified for the PSAC playoffs after finishing the regular season 12-15 overall and 8-14 in PSAC East action (6th in conference).
The 2015-16 season was one where the ball was shared by five guys averaging at least 9 points per game. Also senior Tracy Peal joined the prestigious 1,000 point club making him the 17th Bald Eagle to eclipse the mark.
Coach Nestor also had the privilege to travel to Indianapolis where he attended the 2016 NCAA DII Identity Workshop.
The 2014-15 season LHU qualified for the PSAC playoffs after going 10-17 overall and 10-13 in PSAC East play (5th PSAC East standings).
Highlighting the 2014-15 year was Hepburn who earned All-Region status after also earning a spot on the PSAC East First Team for the second straight year.
During the 2014-15 season marked the second consecutive season where Hepburn led the league in scoring, closing his career as one of the best players in LHU history. His 19.3 points per game during the regular season led him to the scoring title and he finished the year with 19.4. Hepburn scored in double-figures in 23 of 25 games and went over 20 points, 13 different times. The Preseason All-American made history on February 4 at West Chester, becoming the first player in LHU men's basketball history to record a triple-double. Hepburn scored 22 points, dished out 11 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds. He was the only PSAC player last season to record a triple-double. In just three seasons with the Bald Eagles, Hepburn scored 1,609 points. He netted 26 as a freshman at Shippensburg, giving him 1,635 for his career, the fourth-most of any LHU men's basketball player in school history.
The 2013-14 season, Nestor’s third at the helm of The Haven program, marked one of the best season’s in school history. Lock Haven went 17-10 and 10-6 in PSAC East play, earning a trip to the PSAC Tournament for the first time since 2003. The 17 wins were the most for the Bald Eagles since winning 26 in 1990.
Nestor was named the 2013-14 PSAC East Coach of the Year.
Wali Hepburn was named the PSAC East Player of the Year after leading the league in scoring. Hepburn was also an All-Region and All-American selection. Hepburn was one of two Bald Eagles to earn All-PSAC honors as senior Kasheef Festus grabbed a spot on the Second Team.
In all, Nestor has led four Bald Eagles to All-Conference honors in his previous four seasons.
In 2012-13, Nestor led the Bald Eagles to a six-win season, the most wins since the 2009-10 season.
Prior to Lock Haven, Nestor was an assistant with the Shippensburg University Red Raiders from 2000-11 and helped head Coaches Dave Springer (2001-2011) and Rodger Goodling (2000-01) in all aspects related to running a successful Division II program.
Among many other duties, Nestor coordinated Shippensburg’s recruiting efforts and oversaw the team’s conditioning program. He also played a huge role in his player’s academic success, monitoring their academic progress and proctoring study hall. While at Shippensburg, Nestor also played a key role in the team's fundraising efforts and alumni outreach program.
Nestor helped Shippensburg post a 59-32 record in a three-season stretch in the mid-2000s (2004-05, 2005-06 and 2006-07) in which the program reached the PSAC playoffs each year and advanced to the NCAA tournament in 2006.
Working primarily with guards during that time, Nestor mentored Marcus Hudson, who became Shippensburg’s career steal leader, and Chuck Davis, a PSAC Western Division Player of the Year who graduated as the leading scorer in school history.
A two-year captain at Shippensburg, Nestor enjoyed a sensational playing career from 1995-99. He was a four-year letter winner and scored a total of 631 points. In addition, he added 263 rebounds and 218 assists.
Nestor and his wife live in Lock Haven with their two children.
*Updated May 10, 2024
