(Photo Courtesy of Mercer Athletics)

John Odierna has made his first assistant hire as the head coach at Manhattan, bringing former Mercer head coach Chad Surman on staff.

Surman comes to Manhattan following a seven-year stint with the Mercer Bears, the final two of which saw Surman serve as the program’s head coach. Surman resigned from the position earlier this month.

During his two seasons at the helm, the Bears went 10-18 (4-7 SoCon). That includes a campaign this past spring that saw Mercer go 5-10 overall and 2-3 in SoCon play.

At Manhattan, he joins a program that is entering a new era with John Odierna taking over the reigns for Drew Kelleher, who left to take the UMass Lowell head coaching job, and is coming off its best season in 20 years. This past spring the Jaspers went 8-7 (4-2 MAAC), won their conference, and earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the first time since 2002.