He came to AU from Alfred State College, where he served as head mens lacrosse coach from 1997-2005.

Lockner is the winningest coach in AU men's lacrosse program history after winning his 86th game against the University of Dallas in 2018. He completed the year with 91 wins. Since taking over the helm, Lockner has coached 31 Empire 8 All-Conference team members and four All-Americans. Lockner and his staff were named the coaching staff of the USILA North-South game in 2015.

In 2018 the Saxons advanced to their first Empire 8 Conference tournament, recording a 9-7 overall record and 5-2 record in conference play. Six members of the team were named Empire 8 All-Conference including a school record of four named to the First Team (Jake Lynch, Joe Fornataro, Garrette Briggs and Shane Weber). Weber, Lynch and Briggs were then named to the ECAC All-Region Team before Lynch earned his third consecutive All-America recognition following the 2018 season.

In 2017 the Saxons went 7-7 and 3-5 in Empire 8 play, finishing fifth in the standings and narrowly missing the postseason. AU led the conference in shooting percentage (.337) in 2017 while ranking second in caused turnovers per game (11.71) and third in scoring margin (1.6). Jake Lynch was named to the Empire 8 All-Conference First Team while Jimmy Pratti, Derek Bishopp and Shane Weber earned Honorable Mention.

The Saxons posted a 10-5 mark in 2016, giving the Saxons to 10 or more wins in consecutive years. Lynch (the 2015 Empire 8 Conference Rookie of the Year) earned USILA All-American honors in 2016, while seven Saxons, including Lynch, earned Empire 8 all-conference honors.

In nine seasons at Alfred State, Lockner guided the Pioneers to a 75-40 overall record. In each of the last seven seasons, Alfred State was nationally ranked among National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) teams. Between 2000 and 2005, the Pioneers posted at least 10 wins per season.

In 2001 Lockner was named NJCAA Region III and National Coach of the Year. He coached eight All- Americans and more than 20 All-Region III and Academic All-Americans during his tenure at Alfred State.