Jessica Mannetti

Under Jessica Mannetti's leadership, the Sacred Heart University women's basketball team has remained as one of the top programs in the Northeast Conference – most recently being crowned the 2023 NEC Conference Champions. The Pioneers have made four postseason appearances during her tenure and captured the 2015-16 regular season championship, the 2023 NEC Conference Championship and made both school and league history with a first round win in the 2023 NCAA tournament. Sacred Heart has averaged at least 17 wins per season with Mannetti at the helm and has never had a sub-.500 record in conference play. She starts the 2023-24 campaign with a 147-147 record, 115-67 in the league.

2020-21:

• Posted a .500 record in conference play.
• Adrianne Hagood was named Second-Team All-NEC for the second time. Nikki Johnson earned Third-Team All-NEC while Kelsey Wood was selected to the NEC All-Rookie Team.

2019-20:

• Won the final four games of the regular season on their way to a 9-9 mark in the conference, 13-17 overall.
• Defeated St. Francis, 73-70, in the quarterfinals of the NEC Tournament.
• Adrianne Hagood was named Second-Team All-NEC. Sonia Smith earned a spot on the NEC All-Rookie Team.

2018-19:

• Saw four players earn All-NEC laurels (Katherine Haines - First Team, Candice Leatherwood - Second Team, Erin Storck - Third Team, Adrianne Hagood - Third Team), matching an NEC record for most All-Conference players recognized in one season
• Finished with a winning record for the fourth time in six seasons at the helm and recorded the second-highest NEC regular season win total in her time as head coach

2017-18:

• Helped develop All-NEC Third Team selection Candice Leatherwood as well as NEC All-Rookie Adrianne Hagood
• One of 20 NCAA Division I head coaches selected to attend WBCA's XCEL Head Coaching Workshop in Columbus, Ohio

2016-17:

• Led the Pioneers to its 18th consecutive NEC postseason appearance, with a 13-5 conference record. The team would go on to fall to Bryant in the NEC semi-finals
• Earned a birth in the WNIT, for the second year in a row, marking the third time in program history the Pioneers would appear in the WNIT
• Developed Katherine Haines into the NEC Most Improved Player in the NEC
• Ended the season with 3 All-NEC Selections (Hannah Kimmel 1st Team, Katherine Haines 2nd Team, and Adaysha Williams 3rd Team) and 1 All-MET selection (Hannah Kimmel 3rd Team)

2015-16:

• Led Sacred Heart to its fourth NEC Regular Season Title with a 16-2 league record, clinching home court advantage throughout the NEC Championship
• Named the 2016 NEC Coach of the Year
• Led the Pioneers to their fifth Northeast Conference championship game, but fell to Robert Morris garnering a bid into the WNIT, the program's second appearance in the tournament
• Developed Alissa Tarsi (All-NEC Second Team) to become the 2016 NEC Most Improved Player
• Helped Hannah Kimmel add a few more highlights to her basketball resume. In her third season, Kimmel was named the NEC Player of the Year, earned All-NEC First Team honors, and was named to the All-Metropolitan Second Team

2014-15:

• Under her leadership, the Pioneers posted a 16-13 record, and finished fourth in the NEC clinching a quarterfinal home game with an 11-7 record against league foes
• The year was highlighted with the program's first ever win over a Big East member with Dec. 20's 72-49 defeat of Villanova
• Helped Hannah Kimmel to her second All-NEC season as the red shirt-junior earned All-NEC First Team accolades

2013-14:

• In her first season with the Pioneers, she led the team to a 12-18 record, including overtime battles with Big East members Villanova and St. John’s, and a sixth place finish in the Northeast Conference with a 9-9 league record
• On November 16, 2013, she earned her first win as a head coach as the Pioneers defeated Yale University 67-54
• As the sixth seed in the NEC Championship, the Pioneers headed to Saint Francis U for what would be a quarterfinal double-overtime thriller. SHU and the Red Flash combined for 255 points setting a NCAA Division I record for combined scoring. That season, Mannetti coached three players to All-NEC honors
• Coached three players to All-NEC honors: Gabrielle Washington - All-NEC First Team, Hannah Kimmel - NEC All-Rookie Team, Adaysha Williams - NEC All-Rookie Team

Before SHU:

• Came to Sacred Heart after spending four seasons at Hofstra as an assistant coach on Krista Kilburn-Steveskey's staff
• While at Hofstra, Mannetti helped guide the Pride to a 72-55 record as well as a pair of appearances in the WNIT
• Helped develop several players who went on to receive accolades from the Colonial Athletic Conference (CAA) including Candace Bond who was named the 2012-13 CAA Defensive Player of the Year. She assisted with the development of All-American Shante Evans, who was named to the 2011 USA Basketball Women's Pan American Games team. As a recruiter, Hofstra's 2011 class ranked as the sixth best mid-major recruiting class in the nation by ESPN Hoopgurlz
• Prior to arriving at Hofstra, Mannetti served as the head girls' varsity basketball coach at Green Farms Academy in Westport, CT. In 2008-09 she led the team to a spot in the Fairchester Athletic Association (FAA) postseason tournament for the first time in school history. In her five seasons with Greens Farm, she developed the program from junior varsity status in 2004-05 to leading the Dragons to the playoffs in her final campaign
• A veteran of the AAU scene, Mannetti served as the head coach of the U-18 girls' team for the CT Future Stars AAU Basketball program from 2004 through 2008. Mannetti has also spent considerable time working with the Five-Star Basketball in a variety of positions since 1999.
• Previously worked an internship with the New York Knicks in their basketball operations department and worked as an event staffer for the New York Liberty
• A three-sport athlete in college, Mannetti graduated from Concordia College in Bronxville, NY in 2001 with a degree in business administration. She played volleyball, basketball and softball at Concordia and served as the team captain for both the volleyball and basketball teams
• A Fairfield County native, Mannetti has called New Caanan home for much of her life