Sacred Heart University Men's Basketball

Having just concluded his 12th season at the helm of the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball program in 2024-25, Anthony Latina has engineered a strong resurgence of the Pioneers’ program during his tenure. Sacred Heart is in a new era as it just completed its first year in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) in 2024-25. In his first year in the MAAC, Latina led the Pioneers to a 10-10 league record, finishing the season seventh overall. SHU made its first appearance in the MAAC Championships in Atlantic City, N.J., picking up its first MAAC postseason win, taking down Fairfield, 71-58, to advance to the quarterfinals. The Pioneers fell to Merrimack, 66-62, after staging a late comeback to force overtime. Sacred Heart had three athletes earn All-MAAC recognition in its first year in the league. Prior to the MAAC, Latina and the Pioneers made 10 Northeast Conference Tournament appearances, including back-to-back top-four finishes in the final 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-N

Donte Gittens was promoted to assistant coach ahead of the 2024-25 season after spending the previous two seasons as the Director of Operations for the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball program. Gittens joined the Pioneers staff in September of 2022 after spending time as the Varsity Head Coach and Director of Basketball Player Development at the Perkiomen School in Pennsylvania. In his first two seasons with the program, the Pioneers made back-to-back Northeast Conference (NEC) postseason appearances and had five All-NEC honorees. As director of basketball operations, Gittens was responsible for day-to-day administrative operations, including communication with internal and external constituencies, facility scheduling, film exchanges, and summer basketball camps. He was also in charge of planning and coordinating team travel and managing the program's budget. At Perkiomen, he spent more than four years in charge of basketball player development and as an assistant coach of the National team. Gittens played professional basketball with the Manchester Magic. A graduate of Franklin Pierce University, he majored in Mass Communications and garnered many accolades during his time as a basketball player with the Ravens. He was a member of the All-Freshman team, a two-time All-Conference player, 1300+ points, 500+ rebounds, 450+ assists, second all-time in blocks, top five in assists, as well as helping lead the team to an NCAA DII National Tournament.

Jeremy Kipness comes to Sacred Heart University as Assistant Coach for men’s basketball in August of 2024 after four seasons (2020-2024) serving in various c...

Kyle Steinway just completed his 12th season with the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball staff in 2024-25. After spending 10 seasons as an assistant co...

Tom Barrett returned to Sacred Heart as an assistant coach prior to the 2023-24 season. Barrett is the team’s Offensive Coordinator. The Pioneers finished first in points per game in their respective conference each of the past two seasons. Sacred Heart averaged 78.0 points per game in conference play in their first season in the MAAC in 2024-25. In the 2023-24 season, the Pioneers led the NEC, averaging 76.4 points per game during conference play. Barrett spent the prior two years at Rutgers University working under Coach Steve Pikiell, serving as the Director of External Operations. While at Rutgers, the Scarlet Knights made it to the NCAA Tournament in 2022, marking the first time RU made the big dance in consecutive seasons since 1976. Barrett was responsible for analytics and special projects while also helping with scouting reports during his time at Rutgers. Before Rutgers, Barrett spent four seasons at Sacred Heart as the team’s Coordinator of Basketball Operations. Barrett’s first stint at SHU was highlighted by the 2019-20 season, in which Sacred Heart had its best season at the NCAA 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 Division I era. The team also won its first postseason game since 2009, earning a 61-59 win over Mount Saint Mary’s. Barrett came to SHU after serving as