Erik Saroney was named the Onondaga Community College Head Men’s Basketball Coach on April 15, 2016. In his first season at the helm of the program he was crowned 2016-17 NJCAA Region III Coach of the Year after guiding the Lazers to the highest winning percentage (.848) in history of the fourty-nine year old program.
Saroney led the 2016-17 team to an overall record of 28-5. The Lazers maintained a top-ten national ranking throughout the entire season, and Saroney guided the Lazers to the no.1 slot for two consecutive weeks in the NJCAA Division III National Poll.
Prior to arriving at Onondaga, Saroney served as League Chairman and member of the Section III Basketball Committee from 2007-2016, and posted an impressive record of 238-72 (.767) in 14 years as head coach of the boys varsity basketball program at Henninger High School. During his time at Henninger, the Black Knights won five Section III AA Championships (2004, 2008, 2011, 2013, 2015) and seven League Titles (2004, 2009, 2001, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2016). Saroney was also named the Post-Standard Central New York Coach of the Year three times in 2008, 2011, and 2015, and was twice named the Section III Class AA Coach of the Year.
Before accepting his position with the Black Knights, Saroney was the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at NCAA Division II University of South Carolina Spartanburg, currently known as the University of South Carolina Upstate where his duties included recruiting both high school and junior college student-athletes, as well as scouting, monitoring of student-athlete academic progress, and individual skill development and strength training.
Saroney graduated Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education and a Business Administration minor from the State University of New York College at Brockport in 1997, and earned a Master of Arts degree in Sport Administration from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1999. After receiving his Masters Degree, Saroney taught Physical Education at Lone Oak Elementary in Spartanburg, SC (1999-2001), RN Harris Elementary in Durham, NC (2001-2002), and then at Henninger High School in Syracuse, NY (2002-present).
