Coaching Staff
Dagan Nelson
Head Coach
Dagan Nelson begins his third season as the head men's basketball coach. In his second season, Nelson guided the Hawks to a 7-18 record. New Paltz defeated perennial northeast power Keene State for the second consecutive season. The Hawks doubled their conference win total from the 2007-2008 season. The Hawks defeated Geneseo and Buffalo State who both claimed a share of the SUNYAC regular season title.
This past June, Nelson was the head coach of the USA Athletes International Team that traveled to Bosnia, Croatia and Italy. The team was comprised of Division II and Division III student-athletes from across the country. The team went 4-2 while competing against some of Europe's quality semi-pro teams.
A native of Long Island, New York, Nelson comes to New Paltz after spending two years as the assistant coach at Concordia College in Bronxville, NY. He helped guide the Clippers to a 19-36 record over two seasons. Nelson says he is grateful to Tim Maloney, Director of Basketball Operations at Baylor University, for being a mentor to his coaching career.
Prior to Concordia, Nelson spent one year at Stony Brook where the Seawolves posted a 12-17 record and made it to the quarterfinals of the America East Conference tournament. Before Stony Brook, Nelson was a member of the coaching staff at Eastern Kentucky for two seasons. In 2003-04, the Colonels finished fourth in the Ohio Valley Conference and later advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament for the first time in over 13 years.
A 1996 graduate of Ramapo College with a bachelor’s degree in American studies, Nelson’s coaching background also includes stints at NYU, Pace, Melbourne Central Catholic High School in Florida, Kellenberg Memorial HS, and Suffolk West Community College. During his time at Melbourne Central Catholic High School he led the team to a 37-22 record over two years, including winning the District Championship in 1998-1999. Five of his athletes went on to play basketball at the collegiate level. In addition to his coaching duties, Nelson co-founded the St. Agnes Basketball Camp for boys and girls in 1997 and has worked as an instructor at the Five Star Camp for six summers.
Nelson was a two year member of the Ramapo basketball team from 1993-1995, after transferring from Nassau Community College. He led the Roadrunners in three point field goal percentage in 1993-94, and was second in the New Jersey Athletic Conference (NJAC) in 1994-95. During his senior year he averaged 12.5 points and led the NJAC in three-pointers made.
Contact Dagan Nelson at ext. 3917 or nelsond@newpaltz.edu.
Michael Haney
Assistant Coach
Michael Haney begins his first year as the assistant men's basketball coach.
Haney joins the Hawks Staff after playing semi-pro basketball for the Goldfields Giants in Australia. During his three years with the Giants, the team compiled a record of 68-22 and won two championships.
Prior to playing semi-pro basketball, Haney is a 2006 graduate of Eastern Kentucky University with a bachelor’s degree in sports and exercise science. During his four year playing career with the Colonels, Haney earned First Team All-Ohio Valley Conference and was named Ohio Valley Conference MVP in the 2005 conference tournament. In that same year, the Colonels improved their win total by eight games and were 11-5 in the OVC. Eastern Kentucky earned a bid to the 2005 NCAA Tournament and faced SEC powerhouse University of Kentucky. The Colonels would fall to the Wildcats, 72-64 after battling the Wildcats down to the wire.
Contact Michael Haney at ext. 3917 or haneym@newpaltz.edu.
Lee Bertram
Volunteer Coach
Lee Bertram will be volunteering for the men's basketball program this season.
Lee played three seasons for the Hawks.
Contact Lee Bertram at ext. 3917.