Patrick Doherty enters his 10th season as Haverford College’s men’s basketball coach in 2026-27.
Doherty guided a young Haverford squad through a season of growth in 2025-26, finishing with a 9-16 overall record. The campaign was highlighted by a signature 74-68 victory over Swarthmore that snapped an 11-year drought against the Garnet and energized an Alumni Day crowd inside Gooding ’84 Arena. The breakthrough victory and the team’s continued development provided a strong foundation heading into 2026-27.
Sophomore forward Adam Strong-Jacobson anchored the lineup, earning All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention after averaging a team-best 12.0 points and 8.1 rebounds per game while shooting 55.8 percent from the field. He led the Fords in points, rebounds, blocks, and field goals made, ranking among the conference leaders in rebounding and shot-blocking. His two-way impact provided consistency for a young roster that showed flashes of competitiveness throughout conference play.
Under Doherty’s guidance, the Fords have achieved some of the program’s most notable successes. Haverford collected 29 victories across the 2019-20 and 2021-22 seasons, highlighted by a Centennial Conference semifinal appearance in 2019-20. The Fords finished that breakthrough campaign with 16 victories, the second-highest total in school history behind the 1976-77 team. Their third-place finish marked the program’s highest finish in the Centennial Conference standings, and the postseason appearance was Haverford’s first since 2010-11.
Haverford followed with a 13-12 overall record and a 9-9 conference mark in 2021-22, narrowly missing a return to the postseason. In 2022-23, the Fords finished 9-16 overall and 7-11 in conference play, again finishing just shy of a playoff berth. Senior Nate Torres earned All-Centennial Conference Honorable Mention, while senior Jackson Ryan was named to the Centennial Conference All-Sportsmanship Team. Brandon Banadda, Charlie Mamlin, Torres, and Ryan Trotter also earned CSC Academic All-District recognition.
Joe Scibelli ’19 and Jesse Turkson ’21 both earned first-team All-Centennial Conference accolades under Doherty’s guidance. Scibelli led the conference in scoring and rebounding, becoming the first Centennial player since 2012 to average a double-double. Turkson ranked second in the conference in rebounding and seventh in scoring during the 2019-20 campaign. That season, 11 different Fords scored at least 10 points in a game, while nine different players led the team in scoring. Haverford’s balanced offense and ball movement helped the Fords lead the Centennial Conference in assists during their playoff run.
Doherty was hired as Haverford’s head men’s basketball coach on May 11, 2017. He arrived after eight seasons as an assistant coach at his alma mater, Lafayette College, including five years as the top assistant on Fran O’Hanlon’s staff. He was promoted to associate head coach before the 2015-16 season.
Working alongside O’Hanlon, Doherty helped guide Lafayette to four Patriot League Championship game appearances, highlighted by a league title and an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament in 2014-15.
During his time in Easton, Doherty helped develop 12 All-Patriot League selections, including five first-team honorees. Four Leopards earned Patriot League All-Rookie Team recognition, while eight earned spots on the Patriot League All-Tournament Team. Nine student-athletes also received academic all-league recognition during his tenure.
Doherty began his collegiate coaching career as an assistant at The College of New Jersey in 2007-08. He also spent one season as an assistant at Williams College, helping the Ephs reach the conference semifinals with a 17-9 overall record and a 6-3 NESCAC mark. He began his coaching career at Central Bucks East High School in Doylestown, Pa., serving for two seasons as head junior varsity coach and assistant varsity coach.
Doherty has also worked with the Hoop Group as a coach and site facilitator and served as a program director for PeacePlayers International in Northern Ireland. The nonprofit organization uses basketball to unite and educate children and their communities in areas historically characterized by strife. While in Northern Ireland, he also served as a player-coach for Northstar Basketball Club.
Doherty graduated summa cum laude from Lafayette in 2004 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and Spanish. A Marquis Scholar, the College’s highest academic scholarship designation, he joined the basketball team as a walk-on during the 2000-01 season. Doherty and his wife, Kristen, have two children, Maeve and Connor.
