Anthony Latina
Camp Director
Having just concluded his 11th season at the helm of the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball program in 2023-24, Anthony Latina has engineered a strong resurgence of the Pioneers’ program during his tenure. Sacred Heart enters a new era in its first year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2024-25.
Latina and the Pioneers made 10 Northeast Conference Tournament appearances, including back-to-back top-four finishes in the last two seasons and six straight appearances from 2019-24.
Latina’s strong ability to recruit talented student-athletes and focus on player development annually had Sacred Heart amongst the leaders in the NEC’s postseason awards. During his time as head coach, Latina has produced the program's first Defensive Player of the Year (Jare’l Spellman) and Player of the Year (Cane Broome), along with a pair of Most Improved Players (Tyler Thomas and E.J. Anosike). In addition to the major award winners, 16 athletes were named to All-NEC teams, and SHU has had six players named to the NEC All-Rookie team during Latina’s tenure.
The 2019-20 season saw Sacred Heart have its best campaign at the Division I level as the Pioneers won 20 games and advanced to the semifinals of the NEC Tournament. The 2019-20 squad was the first Pioneer team to reach 20 wins since the 1988-89 season and was the first team to reach that mark in the DI era. The team also won its first postseason game since 2009, earning a 61-59 win over Mount Saint Mary’s.
During the 2015-16 campaign, Latina led the Pioneers to a second-place finish in the NEC and coached the NEC Player of the Year, Broome. Broome is the only player in program history to win the conference’s Player of the Year honor and the second sophomore in league history to win the award. Broome led the NEC and ranked 10th nationally in scoring during the season.
Latina took over the reins of the Sacred Heart program after spending eight seasons as an assistant under the legendary Dave Bike. He joined Bike's staff in 2005-06 after spending the previous six seasons as an assistant coach at Central Connecticut State University. At CCSU, he helped guide the Blue Devils to two NCAA Tournament appearances and three trips to the NEC title game. He was part of the staff that helped produce the first-ever NBA draft pick from CCSU, Corsley Edwards, who was taken in the second round by the Sacramento Kings in 2002.
Before joining Central Connecticut's staff, Latina worked for four years as an assistant coach at Division II UMass-Lowell.
Latina was a four-year starter and two-year captain as a point guard at Brandeis University. He was part of the 1991-92 squad that won the ECAC Championship. An honor student in the classroom, Latina also received the Athletic Director's Award and Stein Attitude and Dedication to Basketball Award at Brandeis. He earned his undergraduate degree in history and American Studies from Brandeis and his Master's in Education from UMass-Lowell.
The Connecticut native was a captain of the 1990-91 Connecticut State Championship team at South Catholic High School under legendary coach Joe Reilly.
Latina and his wife, Jodi, and children, Luke and Zoe reside in Wethersfield, Conn.