Scott Yarnell enters his 23rd season as the head coach of the men's basketball program at Berks in the 2015-16 season. Yarnell has compiled a 289-273 (.514) record making him the all-time leader in wins at Penn State Berks.
The 2014-15 team finished with an overall record of 7-17 and were 7-11 in the conference. They had one played named to the All-NEAC Second Team.
In 2013-14, the Nittany Lions went 8-18 overall and were 7-11 in the NEAC. They made the conference postseason tournament for the third straight season. Berks defeated SUNY Cobleskill in the opening round, before falling to tournament host Lancaster Bible College in the semifinals. Berks had two players earn all-conference awards.
Yarnell guided the men's team to one of its most successful seasons in program-history in the 2012-13 season. The Nittany Lions finished 13-12 overall and went 11-3 in the conference to win their first NEAC South Division title. The Nittany Lions fell in the semifinal round to Wells College by a score of 82-61.
Berks was rewarded greatly for its stellar run through the regular-season in the 2012-13 season. Yarnell was named NEAC Coach of the Year, while Dameon Nixon was selected as the NEAC Rookie of the Year. Tom Smith was an All-NEAC First Team selection and Jeff Schmidt was named to the second team.
The 2012-13 team set the single-season school record for points (1914), scoring average (76.6), field goal percentage (46.2%), 3-point field goal percentage (35.7), free throws made (332), free throw percentage (65.2%), and assists (407). The Nittany Lions finished the season with five players averaging in double figures in scoring.
In the 2011-12 season, the Nittany Lions closed out the regular season with six game winning streak to return to the NEAC playoffs after missing the year before. Berks finished the season with an overall record of 11-14 and went 9-5 in the conference. In the NEAC quarternfinal round, the Nittany Lions defeated Gallaudet University, 67-62, to earn their first playoff victory since 2009. Berks had one player earn All-NEAC honors.
The Nittany Lions finished the 2010-11 season with an 8-17 overall record and 8-10 in the NEAC. Berks finished the season with a 3-0 record in games that went to overtime. The Lions matched a program-high 100 points in a win over Penn State Harrisburg. Coach Yarnell roster was full of underclassmen that had no seniors and just two juniors.
Yarnell led the 2009-2010 men's basketball team to a fifth consecutive trip to the NEAC postseason. The team fell to Harrisburg in the quarterfinal round. In the each of the previous two seasons, Yarnell took Berks into the NEAC semi-final round.
Yarnell has seen a great deal of success in his 18 seasons with the program. His teams have captured two Northern Pennsylvania Junior College Conference (NPJCC) Championships and two Commonwealth Campus Athletic Conference (CCAC) East Championships. This success earned him five Coach of the Year honors (two NPJCC awards and three as a member of the CCAC).
Coach Yarnell earned his degree in Criminal Justice from Alvernia College where he was a member of the basketball and tennis teams. He is currently employed as a State Parole Officer for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and also serves as the head men's and women's tennis coach at Penn State Berks.
