Jason O'Connell joined the Alvernia staff in April of 2026 following a 12 year career as the head coach of Cairn University.
“We are proud and excited to announce Jason O’Connell as our next Head Men’s Basketball Coach,” said Beddick. “Jason quickly rose to the top of a highly competitive candidate pool thanks to his success as a head coach and his ability to build strong, lasting relationships with his student-athletes.”
“Jason is a proven winner who has consistently competed for conference championships,” added Beddick. “With the support of our resources, facilities, and campus community, we believe he is the right leader to build on our proud tradition and return our program to competing at the national level.”
During O’Connell’s time at the helm of Cairn, the Highlanders won 149 NCAA games and have gone 80-53 since 2021. O’Connell led the Highlanders to a 21-7 season this past year, earning a regional ranking and finishing the regular season as co-United East regular season champion. O’Connell is Cairn’s winningest coach in the program’s NCAA era.
O’Connell took over Cairn after the Highlanders came off a two win season in 2013-14. In 2018-19, O’Connell led the Highlanders to an 18-9 season, finishing the year above .500 for the first time since the 2003-04 season. The Highlanders finished as CSAC runners-up, and O’Connell was named CSAC Coach of the Year. The following season, O’Connell led Cairn to an 18-10 season. The Highlanders won the CSAC Championship and made their first ever NCAA tournament appearance.
Following the Covid-shortened 2020-21 season, the Highlanders have made postseason appearances each year. In both 2021-22 and 2022-23, Cairn finished as CSAC Runners-up, and O’Connell earned his second CSAC Coach of the Year honor in 2022-23. After postseason appearances in 2023-24 and 2024-25, the Highlanders made it back to the United East (formally CSAC) championship game this past season.
“Jason is an outstanding fit for Alvernia and our campus community,” said Beddick. “His leadership, commitment to service, and dedication to developing the whole person align closely with our Franciscan values.”
During his time at Cairn, O’Connell coached eleven first team all-conference players and seven additional second-team all-conference players. Ten of his players became 1,000 point scorers. This past season, Cairn’s Corey Baldwin led all of Division III in 3-pointers per game. Cairn finished third in the country in 3-pointers per game, and were top 20 in scoring margin at +13. The Highlanders also finished 23rd in the nation this year in points per game at 86.
Off the court, Cairn has had eight seasons with a team GPA above 3.0 and twice earned team academic award honors. The Highlanders also earned conference and Philadelphia area sportsmanship honors during O’Connell’s time at Cairn. O’Connell was recognized in 2019 as a 30 under 30 recipient by the NABC and Under Armour, which represented the top 30 outstanding men’s basketball coaches under the age of 30. Earlier this spring, O’Connell was also selected as an on-court coach for USA Basketball. O’Connell is also an NABC Division III Congress member.
O’Connell is a 2012 graduate of Lancaster Bible College, where he earned his undergraduate degree in Sport Management. He earned a masters degree from California University of Pennsylvania in Exercise Science and an additional masters Degree in Recreation and Park Management from Eastern Kentucky University.
O’Connell, who grew up in the Daniel Boone School District, is married to his wife, Kristina. Together they have a son, Elijah.
