Anthony Latina

Having just concluded his ninth season at the helm of the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball program in 2021-22, Anthony Latina has engineered a strong resurgence of the Pioneers program during his tenure. Latina and the Pioneers are in the midst of a three year stretch in which they have finished in the top three in the Northeast Conference each year, have earned berth’s to three straight NEC Tournament Championships, and have won more regular season NEC conference games than any other team.

In 2020-2021, despite having one of the nation’s youngest teams, and being picked to finish 10^th in the NEC Preseason Poll, the Pioneers well exceeded expectations and finished in 3^rd place. The squad finished with a winning record in conference play for the third consecutive season. Player development, a staple under Coach Latina, was once again recognized as Pioneer sophomore Tyler Thomas was named the 2021 NEC Most Improved Player.

The 2019-20 season saw Sacred Heart have their best season at the NCAA Division I level as the Pioneers won 20 games and advanced to the semifinals of the NEC Championship. 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 Division I era. The team also won their first postseason game since 2009, earning a 61-59 win over Mount Saint Mary’s at the NEC Championships.

Latina’s strong ability to recruit talented student-athletes and focus on player development annually has Sacred Heart amongst the leaders in the Northeast Conference’s post season awards. In Latina’s eight seasons as Sacred Heart’s Head Coach, he has had nine student athletes receive all-conference honors and had six freshman be named to the conference’s all-rookie team. The Pioneers have also garnered two NEC Most Improved Player Awards, and one NEC Defensive Player of the Year Award.

During the 2015-16 season, Latina led the Pioneers to a second-place finish in the Northeast Conference, and coached the NEC Player of the Year Cane Broome. Broome is the only player in program history to win the conference’s player of the year honors and just the second sophomore in league history to win the award. Broome led the NEC and ranked 10th nationally in scoring during the 2015-16 campaign.

Latina took over the reins of the Sacred Heart program after spending eight seasons as an assistant coach under the legendary Coach 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. During his time at CCSU, he helped guide the Blue Devils to two NCAA Tournament appearances, and three trips to the Northeast Conference 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.