ONEONTA, N.Y. – After more than a decade as a player and coach with the Union College men's basketball team, Nick Ciresi '09 is stepping down as associate head coach to accept the head men's basketball coaching position at Hartwick College, the school announced on Friday.
 
Ciresi spent nearly 10 years as a coach with the Dutchmen, beginning with two years as an assistant under former mentor Bob Montana from 2009-11 before spending the last seven years alongside head coach Chris Murphy '06 on the Union sideline.
 
"My time at Union College is something I will forever be grateful for," said Ciresi. "Thank you to Coach Montana for introducing me to Union, mentoring me and for my first collegiate coaching opportunity. Coach Murphy is a fantastic leader and a great friend; I would not be ready for this next step without his guidance and cannot thank him enough. Furthermore, I would like to thank President David Harris, Vice President Strom Thacker, Athletic Director Jim McLaughlin '93, and administrators Beth Tiffany, Joanne Little and Brianne Brinker. Working under their leadership has helped prepare me for the next step in my coaching career."
 
The Dutchmen boasted several of the best seasons in program history with Ciresi on the sidelines, including the 2017-18 campaign in which Union earned Liberty League Coaching Staff of the Year honors after posting a 19-9 record and capturing the Liberty League Tournament championship for the second year in a row. The team also won a conference title on its home court in 2016-17, earning the program's first NCAA Tournament berth since 2005. In total, the team boasted an 85-71 (.544) record in his time on the Union sidelines.
 
"We are extremely excited for Nick and his opportunity to lead the men's basketball program at Hartwick," said Murphy. "Nick has been essential to our success as a basketball program over his last seven years and is prepared to take the next step. He has been excellent at developing relationships with our student-athletes, staff and faculty and that will continue in his new role. Hartwick College got an outstanding basketball coach, and an even better person."
 
Ciresi was a four-year player on the men's basketball team at Union, serving as team tri-captain and leading the Liberty League in three-point field goal percentage during his senior season of 2008-09. He graduated from Union with a degree in political science in 2009 before beginning his coaching career at his alma mater.