Honors
NABC Regional Coach of the Year (1): 2012
Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year: 2012, 2016
Nelson Haggerty enters his eighth season at the helm at Midwestern State after he was tabbed as the program's 14th head coach in April of 2011.
And he has done nothing but proven his stance as one of the finest young mentors in the game posting a 146-68 mark (.682) in his first seven seasons.
Haggerty has coached a pair of All Americans in Michael Loyd and Corbin Thomas while mentoring seven All-Lone Star Conference picks with a Defensive Player of the Year (Keonte' Logan in 2012) and a Newcomer of the Year (Thomas in 2013).
Haggerty led the Mustangs to a 29-4 record while advancing to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in 2011-12 claiming NABC South Central Region and Lone Star Conference Coach of the Year honors in his first season in the lead chair.
The Mustangs then posted a 22-9 mark with Haggerty leading the team to its fifth consecutive NCAA postseason run in 2012-13 as MSU advanced the South Central Region semifinals before falling to host Metropolitan State (Colo.).
MSU made a return to NCAA Division II postseason play with a 24-8 mark in 2013-14 ending the campaign in the South Central Regional finals.
Haggerty guided MSU to its seventh-straight NCAA postseason appearance in 2014-15 after a 22-9 regular season, moving to the semifinals of the South Central Region before bowing out to Angelo State.
The Mustangs completed a run of eight-straight trips to the postseason after a 24-6 campaign in 2015-16, hosting the regional tournament.
MSU went 14-14 in 2016-17 and followed with an 11-18 record in 2017-18.
The Mustangs claimed Lone Star Conference championships in four of Haggerty's first five seasons at the helm.
Haggerty certainly earned his stripes while advancing through the ranks as a valued assistant coach.
He was on the bench at six of seven Elite Eights from 2006-12. As a second assist at Central Missouri, Haggerty helped the Mules to a pair of 30-win campaigns advancing to the national semifinals in 2006-07 and again in 2008-09 before making the jump to MSU.
As Grant McCasland's top assistant, Haggerty played a key role in helping the Mustangs to a 31-3 mark in 2009-10 as the team advanced to the Elite Eight for the first time in school history.
Midwestern then battled to a second-straight national quarterfinal showing by sweeping through the South Central Region as the No. 6 seed in 2010-11 before taking over heading coaching duties heading into the 2011-12 season.
Haggerty moves into his 18th season coaching men's collegiate basketball in 2018-19 which includes stints at Hutchinson Community College (50-14 mark as an assistant to current SMU associate head coach Tim Jankovich from 1997-99), three seasons as a graduate assistant to Gene Iba at Pittsburg State (2003-06) and three seasons as a second assistant to Kim Anderson at Central Missouri (2006-09) before serving two seasons assisting McCasland at MSU (2009-11).
Playing Career
Haggerty enjoyed a stellar playing career as one of the best point guards in the history of the Baylor University program from 1991-95.
The Willowridge High School product remains the Bears' all-time assists leader with 699. Haggerty earned All-Southwest Conference second-team honors as a senior in 1994-95 when he led the nation averaging 10.1 assists per game. He holds the single-game mark with 19 assists against Oral Roberts on Feb. 27, 1993 and still owns eight of the best 10 single-game assist performances in Baylor history.
Personal
Haggerty and wife, Krissie, are parents to a son - Darien - and three daughters - Aveya, Aniya and Ayona. The family resides in Wichita Falls.
The Haggerty File
Assistant Coach at Hutchinson CC - 1997-99
Assistant Coach at North Shore HS - 2000-02
Graduate Assistant at Pittsburg State - 2003-06
Assistant Coach at Central Missouri - 2007-09
Assistant Coach at Midwestern State - 2009-11
Head Coach at Midwestern State - 2011-
Year |
Head Coach |
Overall |
Conference |
Conf. Finish |
Conf. Tournament |
Postseason |
2017-18 |
Nelson Haggerty |
11-18 (.379) |
7-11 (.389) |
6th |
Quarterfinals |
|
2016-17 |
Nelson Haggerty |
14-14 (.500) |
7-11 (.389) |
7th |
Quarterfinals |
|
2015-16 |
Nelson Haggerty |
24-6 (.800) |
10-4 (.714) |
1st |
Champions |
NCAA II South Central Regional (First Round) |
2014-15 |
Nelson Haggerty |
22-9 (.710) |
10-4 (.714) |
3rd |
Quarterfinals |
NCAA II South Central Regional (Semifinals) |
2013-14 |
Nelson Haggerty |
24-8 (.750) |
12-2 (.857) |
1st |
Finalist |
NCAA II South Central Regional (Finals) |
2012-13 |
Nelson Haggerty |
22-9 (.710) |
14-4 (.778) |
1st |
Finalist |
NCAA II South Central Regional (Semifinals) |
2011-12 |
Nelson Haggerty |
29-4 (.879) |
15-3 (.833) |
1st |
Champions |
NCAA II Elite Eight (National Quarterfinals) |
TOTALS |
7 seasons |
146-68 (.682) |
75-37 (.669) |
4 championships |
2 championships |
5 postseason appearances |