Eastern University Men's Basketball

Dan Pruessner enters his sixth season in charge of Eastern Men's Basketball in 2024-25.  In the 2023-24 season, Pruessner led Eastern University Men's Basketball to the program's first conference championship. In a year where the MAC Commonwealth put three teams into the NCAA Tournament, Eastern had to win a pair of road games against NCAA Tournament teams to claim the program's first title. After pulling away to an 86-72 win at Hood College in the Semifinals, the Eagles erased a 15-point first half deficit and raced to a 98-69 win over a 13th-ranked Widener squad that had handed them two losses in the league.  In another first, the Eagles beat TCNJ in their NCAA Tournament opener.  The 21 wins matches the team's total from the 2021-'22 season and is Pruessner's second 20 win season in his first five years. Jaron Fairweather and Zubair Lee each earned First-Team All-MAC Commonwealth Honors and Kaeshawn Ward earned second-team honors. Both Ward and Fairweather reached the 1,000 point mark in the season, and Lee was named MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year. With Lee protecting the rim, the 2023-24 team finished 5th in the nation in blocked shots.  Pruessner and his staff brought in a talented group for the 2022-23 season, and they topped York 70-64 in the opening round game of the MAC Commonwealth Tournament before falling 75-70 at top-seeded Alvernia. The 18 wins was the second-most wins by an Eastern team since the program joined Division III in 1992-93. Zubair Lee was named MAC Commonwealth Rookie of the Year.  With a 21-win season in 2021-'22, Dan Pruessner had earned MAC Commonwealth Coach of the Year honors and led the Eagles to their first NCAA Tournament bid. The 21 wins was the most by an Eastern team since the 87-88 team went 30-6.   In the 21-22 season, all five Eastern starters scored in double-figures and the Eagles shot over 46% from the floor. With a 14-2 record in the league, they earned the top seed in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. Eastern earned home wins over LVC and Messiah before falling 75-71 to Hood in front of a packed house in the league final.  He brought over fifteen years of head coaching experience from different areas of the country before joining the Eastern staff as Associate Head Coach for Eric McNelley in in 2018-19. He was promoted to Head Coach in the spring of 2019 when McNelley stepped away to serve as Athletic Director. In his first year at the helm, the Eagles went 17-10 and advanced to the MAC Freedom Tournament final.    He spent eight seasons as the Head Coach at Florida Christian School in Miami. There, he achieved more district championships than any coach in the school’s 45-year history.  From Florida Christian, he moved to North Carolina where he spent four years at Freedom Christian Academy in Fayetteville. At Freedom Christian he was named the Coastal Plains Independent Conference Coach of the Year, took the Patriots to the NCISA Final Four, and developed over 15 players into NCAA scholarship offers. He played four years of College Basketball at Northland International University. He also holds a masters degree in Sports Science from the United States Sports Academy. Eastern Unviersity Coaching Records  

Austin Carroll enters his seventh season as an assistant with Eastern Men's Basketball, and the former Eagle has seen his role expand consistently as the program has grown and found success. In his early days on staff, he was heavily involved in operations, player development, and recruiting. In recent years he has taken on leadership in scouting and defensive game planning.  When the team won its MAC Commonwealth opener against Stevenson this year, it was the 100th win for the program since Carroll joined the staff.  With his scouts and game-planning in the 2023-'24 season, he played an instrumental role in helping the Eagles to claim the program's first Conference Championship with away wins over a pair of NCAA Tournament qualifying teams in the MAC Commonwealth Tournament. The Eagles earned an 86-72 win at Hood before rallying from a 15-point first-half deficit to race past 13th ranked Widener in the MAC Commonwealth Championship game. The 98-69 win in the final came after the Pride had handed the Eagles a pair of losses in the regular season.  The Eagles then beat TCNJ to claim the first NCAA Tournament win in program history. Zubair Lee was named MAC Commonwealth Defensive Player of the Year. The 21 wins tied the number of wins the team recorded in 2021-22 as the most by an Eastern team since the school joined the NCAA.  The Eagles wen 18-9 in 2022-'23 after a 21-6 season in 2021-'22.  While playing at Eastern, Carroll started 75 games as a point guard over his four seasons and finished with a 1.71 assist to turnover ratio over his four seasons. He shot 38 percent from 3-point range in his senior season and scored a career-high 20 points in an 81-65 win at Ursinus.  The Eagles made the MAC Freedom Tournament in each of his four seasons. He has certification as a personal trainer and a Performance Enhancement Specialist with the NASM. He is the sole proprietor of The Ace Grind Fitness and Wellness company where he works with a variety of clients to help them achieve their fitness or athletic performance goals.  1/15/25