Gary Manchel

Gary completed his 20^th season at the helm of the Mercyhurst University men’s basketball team in 2022-23. At the time of his induction, he has a record of 358-203 at Mercyhurst, and in his 29 seasons as a head coach owns a 489-329 record. In the last five years the Lakers have gone 108-30. He led Mercyhurst to its first-ever PSAC championship in 2015-16 and a first-ever NCAA Div. II Tournament berth. He has now led the Lakers to seven NCAA Tournaments and seven 20-win seasons, along with three 20-win campaigns and an NCAA Tournament appearance at UMass-Lowell, where he served for nine years. His Mercyhurst teams are known for their intense defense and annually rank among the top defensive teams in the country, including number one in 2015-16. In 2018-19 his team tied the most wins in program history with 26 and reached the NCAA Elite Eight. In both 2020-21 and 2021-22 Mercyhurst was ranked as high as third in the country. He has been named Coach of the Year four times, three at Mercyhurst and once at UMass-Lowell.