Aaron Nester is in his second year as Lakeland's head women's basketball coach.
Nester’s first season with the Muskies in 2015-16 was a success, as the team finished 14-12 overall and 13-7 in the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference. Lakeland posted its first winning season since 2011-12 and finished fifth in the NACC, and the Muskies overcame a slow start to win 12 of their final 16 regular season games before a tough loss to Aurora in the NACC Tournament quarterfinals.
Lakeland became one of the best teams in the conference in taking care of the ball, leading the NACC in turnover margin, fewest turnovers committed and fewest turnovers per game. The Muskies also held 14 opponents below 60 points, and sophomore center Maddy Doll set the school’s single-season record for blocked shots.
Nester has 14 years of coaching experience at the NCAA Division III level. His previous experience as a head coach included three years as the head coach at Oglethorpe (Ga.) University, and he came to Lakeland after one year as the top assistant coach at Central College in Pella, Iowa.
Nester is experienced in helping rebuild Division III women's basketball programs. His year at Central marked a return to the Midwest for the Indianapolis, Ind., native and a return to the Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, as he was an assistant at Wartburg (Iowa) College from 2006-11. During his five seasons at Wartburg, the Knights improved from 7-18 in 2005-06 to 21-5 in 2010-11.
He began his coaching career at Rockford University, where he received his bachelor's and master's degrees. During his tenure at Rockford, he was part of the most successful four-year stretch in school history as the women's squad won 76 games and three conference titles and participated in three Division III tournaments.
Nester also has served as a member of the NCAA Division III Women's Basketball Championship Committee since 2011. He was the South Region chair from 2011-14 and has served as West Region chair since the spring of 2014.
Nester is married to wife Stephanie, and the couple resides in Plymouth.
