Herbener returns home to lead Ephrata program

Written by: TJ Eck on May 16, 2024

Matt Herbener admits he wasn’t looking to make a change. But this move was too good to pass up.

“With this being where I went to high school and started off coaching, it’s just kind of a perfect opportunity for me to come back,” said Herbener.

Herbener is the new head coach for the Ephrata boys basketball program.

He is a 2013 graduate of the school who, when he was attending Muhlenberg College, got his start as an assistant basketball coach at Ephrata under then-head coach Charlie Fisher.

Herbener followed Fisher to Manheim Central, where the latter is still head coach. After serving as an assistant for the Barons for a few seasons, Herbener landed his first varsity head coaching gig at Twin Valley. He led the Raiders for two campaigns.

Then the Ephrata job opened when Scott Gaffey stepped down following the 2023-2024 season.

“I had no idea it was going to open,” said Herbener. “My phone kind of blew up…people started texting me, asking if I was going to apply.”

While it seemed like a match made in heaven, Herbener, who also teaches in the Ephrata School District, says he didn’t go after the job. At least not right away.

“Coming back to Ephrata is something I have always thought about but at the same time, at Twin Valley, I had put in two years there. We had a humungous senior class coming back. As a coaching staff, we felt like we were going to take off at Twin Valley.”

Herbener continued: “I did think about it for a little bit, maybe a week or so, before I applied (to Ephrata).”

After two interviews in a two-day span, Herbener was offered the job.

“It was kind of a crazy timeline,” said Herbener.

Herbener says leading the Ephrata program feels like he’s coming home.

“I have always been a part of the community and around people from Ephrata all the time,” said Herbener. “So it really did have that sense of being home.”

Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that he’s taking over a program that’s primed for a breakthrough season this coming winter.

Ephrata returns a large part of its roster from a team that went 12-10 last season and competed for a Lancaster-Lebanon League playoff spot. The group is headlined by rising senior star guard Marqus Hardin while rising senior guard Cooper Truskey is one of the top shooters in the L-L League. Cayden Landis, Landry Kopp, and Brayden Brown along with Grayson Shellhammer also return after playing significant minutes in 2023-2024.

“We have a lot of pieces coming back,” said Herbener. “At the same time though, (Section 2) is loaded. It is a really, really deep section.”

In Herbener’s first season, Ephrata will be a trendy pick to earn a league playoff berth out of Section 2. He says the Mountaineers will play at a faster pace when the 2024-2025 season tips off.

“I think we might try to pick things up a little bit,” said Herbener. “We’re not going to be a full-out run-and-gun team but I do think with guys like Marqus, who can push the tempo, and Cayden, I do think we have an opportunity to kind of push the ball and play maybe a little more free-flowing.”

Herbener added: “I’m really happy with the group of guys we have and I do think we have the pieces to contend for a playoff spot.”

(Photo above submitted by Matt Herbener)

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