Mercyhurst University Men's Basketball

Gary Manchel, the eighth head coach in the history of the men's basketball program, enters his 23rd season as the Lakers' head man in 2025-26. Manchel has revitalized the Laker program and continues to build on his impressive resume that includes 516 career wins. The Lakers have been a fixture at the NCAA tournament in recent history making appearances in 2014-15, 2015-16, 2018-19, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, and 2022-23. A native of Burlington, Vt., Manchel is a 1985 graduate of the University of Vermont, where he lettered three years for the Catamounts. Prior to Mercyhurst, Manchel worked for two years on the Ohio University coaching staff under Tim O'Shea. Manchel also spent nine years as head coach at the University of Massachusetts Lowell, compiling a 131-125 record during his stay. Before UMass Lowell, Manchel served as an assistant coach at Yale from 1987-92. During his time at Yale, he was a part of three teams that finished in the top ten in scoring defense in all of Division I. Manchel began his coaching career at Slippery Rock, where he served as a graduate assistant for two seasons. Manchel holds a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Vermont and a master's degree in education (sports administration) from Slippery Rock.

After spending the 2023-24 season as a Graduate Assistant for the Lakers, Wright has been elevated to Assistant Coach ahead of the 2024-25 season. Wright joined