Jon Basti

Jon Basti is entering his 10th season as Sacred Heart's head coach in 2023. Basti came to Sacred Heart after serving as the associate head coach at the University of Hartford from 2009-13.

Basti has led the Pioneers to their two most-winningest seasons in the program's Division I history (since 2000) as SHU won nine games in 2019, just one season removed from a nine-win 2017 campaign. In addition, the Pioneers advanced to the NEC Tournament in 2019, marking the first time in program history that SHU has qualified for a conference postseason tournament three straight seasons. Basti has led SHU to 24 wins over the last three seasons (2017-19), which stands as the highest three-season combined win total for SHU at the Div. I level.

The Pioneers went 9-6 overall (4-2 in NEC) in 2019 before bowing out in the NEC semifinals to Hobart. Basti led SHU to a 5-3 non-conference record, tied with their 2017 season for the best-ever non-conference regular season record in program history. The Pioneers also went 5-2 in true road games in 2019, setting a new Div. I single-season record for road victories (five). Max Tuttle also became the program's first-ever All-American, earning the nod two straight seasons (2018, 2019).

Basti led the Pioneers to their winningest season in the program's Division I history (since 2000) in 2017 when SHU went 9-6 overall and earned a berth in the NEC Tournament for the first time in Basti's tenure as head coach. The Pioneers followed that up with a seven-win campaign in 2018, earning a bid into the NEC Tournament for the second consecutive season.

In his first season as head coach in 2014, the Pioneers went 6-9 and were 4-2 in Northeast Conference play. Sacred Heart earned a berth to the NEC Tournament for the second straight season as well. Five Pioneers earned All-NEC honors in 2014, with a program-high three student-athletes (Cody Marquis, Alex Miller, and Andrew Newbold) on the First Team.

During his tenure at Hartford, the Hawks won their first-ever America East Championship and earned their first NCAA Tournament berth in 2011. Under Basti’s guidance, face-off specialist Tim Fallon became the fourth Hartford Hawk to be named a Division I All-American and the first player in program history to be a repeat All-American. Fallon led the nation in 2010 with 9.4 ground balls per game and a 62.2 face-off percentage.

Basti now presides over the program where his coaching career began. He was an assistant coach at Sacred Heart from 2000-02, working with the face-off and defensive units. Basti then was the head coach at Eastern Connecticut State from 2002-04, leading ECSU to two Little East Conference titles and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

A 1999 graduate of Fairfield University with degrees in both politics and history, Basti was a member of the Stags’ 1996 and 1997 MAAC championship teams. Basti also received his Master’s Degree from Fairfield in Education/Social Studies in 2002. He returned to his alma mater in 2005 and was an assistant coach for three seasons. In 2005, the Stags were ranked as high as 15th in the national polls and won the Great Western Lacrosse League championship. He then spent one year at Lafayette before moving on to Hartford.