MAAC_Program_2026_V11_Pages

2025–26 SACRED HEART MEN’S BASKETBALL

QUICK FACTS LOCATION FAIRFIELD, CT

MEN’S ROSTER

NICKNAME PIONEERS COLORS RED & WHITE YEAR FOUNDED 1963 PRESIDENT JOHN J. PETILLO, PH.D.

No. Name

Cl. Fy.

Pos.

Ht.

Wt.

Hometown/High School/Previous College

0 Mooda Gittens 1 Griffin Barrouk 2 Nyle Ralph-Beyer

G 6-4 184 Hartford, CT/Howell Cheney/Winchendon G 6-5 200 Glen Mills, PA/Baynard Rustin G 6-4 175 West Chester, PA/Henderson G 6-1 183 New Haven, CT/Notre Dame West Haven G 6-5 205 Buffalo, NY/St Joseph's Collegiate Institute

Sr.

EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF ATHLETICS JUDY ANN RICCIO HOME ARENA WILLIAM H. PITT CENTER (2,000)

So. So.

3 Mekhi Conner

4 Jaden Slaughter 5 Dashon Gittens

R-Jr.

Sr. Sr.

G 6-3 180 Hartford, CT/Putnam Science/FIU

6 Yann Farell 7 Anquan Hill

F F

6-7 220 Crowley, TX/Immaculate Conception/St Bonaventure

R-Sr.

6-9 200 Philadelphia, PA/Archbishop Carroll

8 Jeremiah Jacobs

Fy.

G 6-8 245 New York, NY/Eagle Academy G 6-2 178 Queens, NY/The Patrick School

10 Taj Bryant

So.

11 Abdou Yadd 13 Fallou Gueye 21 Kevin Pikiell

Fy.

F

6-9 250 Dakar, Senegal/Putnam Science

So.

G 6-6 187 Theis, Senegal/Putnam Science G 6-3 175 Far Hills, NJ/Christian Brothers

Fy.

23 Lucius Gibson-Savadel

R-So. F

6-11 240 Bay Shore, NY/Millbrook

33 Alex Woodring

So. So.

F

6-8 — Wyckoff, NJ/Ramapo

PLAYER TO WATCH Anquan Hill, an All-MAAC Preseason First Team selection, has been one of the conference’s top frontcourt players this season. After missing six games due to injury, he returned with consecutive double-figure scoring efforts, including multiple 20-point performances. An All-MAAC Second Team selection a year ago, Hill leads Sacred Heart in scoring, rebounding, and blocked shots. NOTABLE ALUMNI Shane Gibson, a standout player for Sacred Heart University's men's basketball team, is the program’s Division I all-time leading scorer with 2,079 points. A three-time All-Northeast Conference selection, Gibson ranked fourth in the nation in scoring with 22.0 points per game during his junior year and during his senior year, he averaged 21.6 ppg, ninth in NCAA DI. From Killingly, CT, Gibson went undrafted in the 2013 NBA draft but played Summer League with the Sacramento Kings. He later joined the NBA D-League’s Idaho Stampede, averaging 12.5 ppg with impressive shooting percentages. Gibson’s career spanned teams in Italy, Canada, Cyprus, Croatia, and Hungary, including stints with Basket Recanati, Halifax Hurricanes, and AEK Larnaca. In 2023, Gibson signed with the Edmonton Stingers of the Canadian Elite Basketball League after a brief tenure with the Fraser Valley Bandits.

55 Malik Sheppard

G 5-10 155 Edgewater, NJ/Don Bosco Prep

Head Coach: Anthony Latina – Thirteenth Season Associate Head Coach: Kyle Steinway – Thirteenth Season Assistant Coaches: Tom Barrett – Third Season, Donte Gittens – Fourth Season, Jeremy Kipness – Second Season

HEAD COACH ANTHONY LATINA Anthony Latina is in his 13 th season as head coach of the Sacred Heart University men’s basketball program in 2025-26, continuing a period of sustained success for the Pioneers. In their MAAC debut last season, Latina led SHU to a 10-10 league record and a seventh-place finish. The Pioneers made their first MAAC Championship appearance in Atlantic City, NJ, earning their first MAAC postseason win with a 71-58 victory over Fairfield before falling to Merrimack in overtime in the quarterfinals. Three Sacred Heart players earned All-MAAC honors. Prior to joining the MAAC, Latina guided the Pioneers to 10 Northeast Conference Tournament appearances, including six straight from 2019 24 and back-to-back top-four finishes. The 2019-20 season was historic, as SHU won 20 games and reached the NEC Tournament semifinals. A proven recruiter and developer, Latina has coached multiple conference award winners and all-league performers. He took over the program after eight seasons as an assistant under Dave Bike and resides in Wethersfield, CT, with his wife, Jodi, and their children.

2026 | AIR FORCE RESERVE MAAC MEN’S & WOMEN’S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIPS 61