HUNTINGDON, Pa. - The Juniata Men's basketball team has a familiar face returning to the bench as Nick Hager '07 takes over as the assistant coach.
"Adding someone as experienced as Nick to our staff is one thing, bringing back someone so familiar with and so involved with some of our programs most significant achievements is another," Athletics Director and Head Men's Basketball coach Greg Curley. "Few have meant more to the success of Juniata basketball. Nick either played on, coached, or recruited all five teams that have advanced to the conference finals. He bleeds blue and gold and believes deeply in the value of the Juniata experience. We couldn't be more excited to welcome Nick and Tori back to Juniata."
Hager spent the past six years as the head men's basketball coach at Bethany College where he was in charge of all aspects of directing the men's basketball team. In his time in West Virginia, he coached 10 Presidents' Athletic Conference All-Conference selections and one Eastern College Athletic Conference nominee. He led his squad to the PAC Championship in 2018 and also made two appearances in the ECAC Tournament during his time with the Bison. For his first two years, he was also the Head Men's Tennis and Men's Golf coach.
Prior to his time at Bethany, Hager had his first stint as the assistant here at Juniata from 2010 to 2015 where he oversaw guard play, did defensive and offensive breakdowns, and ran individual workouts. During his time in Huntingdon, the team won back-to-back ECAC Championships in 2013 and 2014. The team also was honored with six Landmark All-Conference selections, two CoSIDA/Capital One All-District selections, and was a part of the Landmark Coaching Staff of the Year in the 2011-12 season.
Before Juniata, he spent two years at Auburn University as the NCAA Compliance Graduate Assistant where he worked with all 21 sports, which included tracking all recruiting calls and monitoring weekly season/practice logs. He earned his M.Ed in Administration in Higher Education and Sports Management.
Hager graduated from Juniata with a B.S. in Business Management while also being a four-year member of the basketball team. He made 10 three-pointers against Elizabethtown, which is tied for the most threes made in a single game in program history. He is fourth all-time in program history in both three-pointers made with 169 and in career steals with 144.
Hager and his wife Tori will reside in Huntingdon.