Sacred Heart Roster Features Six Connecticut Players

Sacred Heart's men's basketball team opened its season 1-0 with a roster built around players with Connecticut roots.

Updated on Nov. 5, 2026 in Basketball

Sacred Heart Roster Features Six Connecticut Players

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Would you attend a college basketball game because local players are on the roster?

Sacred Heart men's basketball is 1-0 after a season-opening win over Coast Guard on Monday, with Jojo Wallace scoring 21 points. The Pioneers' roster includes players with strong ties to Connecticut, including Samson Reilly from Glastonbury and Jojo Wallace from New Milford.

Why it matters

The roster reflects coach Anthony Latina's close personal connections with several Connecticut families and his recruitment of experienced transfers. Latina believes the team could compete for a Metro Conference title this season.

Jojo Wallace's 25-point average last season ranked second in Division II, while Dashon Gittens led the team with 49 steals in his prior season. Whether these individual numbers translate to conference success remains to be seen over the full schedule.

The players

Anthony Latina

Sacred Heart's head men's basketball coach, who grew up in the same Connecticut high school circles as several of the families on the roster and later played in the state's prep ranks.

Jojo Wallace

A 6-foot-3 junior guard who played at New Milford High and South Kent and is the son of former Syracuse star John Wallace.

Samson Reilly

A 6-foot-2 junior shooting guard from Glastonbury who led East Catholic to two state championships before transferring to Sacred Heart after one season at Quinnipiac.

The details

Latina has built the roster around players connected to Connecticut programs and families, including the Gittens, Pikiell and Reilly households. Kevin Pikiell, a redshirt freshman, is the son of former UConn point guard Steve Pikiell, while Jojo Wallace is the son of former Syracuse star John Wallace.

Monday: Sacred Heart opens its season with a win over Coast Guard.
Last season: Dashon Gittens led Sacred Heart in steals with 49.
2022: Donte Gittens joined the Sacred Heart program.

Big Picture

The roster echoes the Connecticut-rooted recruiting tradition associated with UConn's program under Jim Calhoun in Storrs, now applied at a Division I mid-major. Sacred Heart's reliance on in-state and family-connected players reflects a regional pipeline model rather than a national recruiting approach.

Fantasy managers and local fans tracking Sacred Heart can follow Jojo Wallace's scoring output, which carries over from his Division II scoring title, into the conference schedule. The Pioneers' Metro Conference positioning will depend on how quickly the Connecticut-tied transfers integrate with the returning roster.

The takeaway

Sacred Heart's roster shows how family and regional connections can shape a mid-major program's identity, and the early season will indicate whether that approach produces conference results.