Ahead of the 2024-25 season, Mercyhurst men’s basketball adds to their sideline with three new staff members. After another successful year on the court, the Lakers look to begin their time at the Division I level, competing within the Northeast Conference.
No stranger to Mercyhurst Basketball, Joe Causgrove rejoins coach Manchel’s staff after previously serving as an assistant in 2019-21. A local product, Causgrove graduated high school for Cathedral prep and attended Penn State Behrend, before earning his master’s in organizational leadership from Mercyhurst in 2021. From there, Joe made his way to now-NEC foe, Saint Francis, where he was named the Director of Basketball Operations in 2021. Causgrove then transitioned to Assistant Coach for the Red Flash ahead of the 2023-24 season before rejoining the Lakers. Head Coach Gary Manchel is thrilled for Causgrove to re-join the staff and mentions that “it is a pleasure to welcome back Joe to Mercyhurst. He worked for me for two years so he understands the system and how things are done. He can easily sell Mercyhurst and his time in the NEC at St. Francis will certainly help in our transition. Joe has an excellent Basketball mind.”
Andrew Garcia has also been newly appointed to Gary Manchel‘s staff. Garcia brings plenty of experience to Erie. He began his time on the sidelines with Tulane as a volunteer assistant before joining Marshall in 2008 as a Graduate Assistant. Garcia also made stops at both Flagler and Carnegie Mellon as an Assistant Coach. Garcia was then named the Head Coach for Chatham University, starting the program in 2014. Throughout his tenure, Garcia led Chatham to two postseason appearances in the President’s Athletic Conference Tournament. Most recently, Garcia has been the Associate Head Coach for South Carolina Upstate where he helped the team to 10 wins in conference play in back-to-back-seasons, which proved to be the best in program history since joining the Big South Conference. Under Garcia’s direction, the program also had at least one all-conference honoree in three straight seasons from 2022 to 2024. Manchel is equally as excited for Garcia and comments: “having played high level D1 at Tulane, and having coached and recruited at this level, Drew will be of great value moving forward. Drew will be the lead in our recruiting efforts and has already helped us land players for this coming year. He has a bright future in this business.”
Justin Lindner is another new face to the program. Lindner spent five seasons with Florida State as a player, and now looks to make his mark within the coaching ranks. Lindner earned both his bachelor’s and master’s degrees as a Seminole. Lindner also completed a coaching internship at FSU before fully moving to the sidelines. In 2022, Lindner joined the Southern California Academy as an Assistant Coach where he ran individual and team-oriented drills, while scouting and running other day-to-day activities. “Justin also played at a high level D1 Basketball program at Florida State, Manchel said. He is terrific at Player Development and has high energy. In addition, with his ties in the Prep Schools, Justin will be an asset in recruiting and evaluating D1 players under the radar.”
The Lakers also announce a change in staff with former Graduate Assistant Chance Wright being elevated to Assistant Coach ahead of the 2024-25 season. Wright joined Mercyhurst last year and helped the team to a 15-16 record and a strong defensive season in which the Lakers allowed the fewest points in the PSAC, their first time doing so in a full season since their 2019-20 campaign. “Chance proved himself last season with his tremendous work ethic. I haven’t had many assistants work as hard as Chance. He is also a relentless recruiter which is vital in this transition.” stated Manchel.
With the Laker staff now primed and ready for a new era, this year’s season schedule is set to be released within the coming weeks.
