Original article (Crocitto Named Saint Leo Head Women’s Basketball Coach) on the Saint Leo University athletic website saintleolions.com.
Anthony Crocitto, a veteran Division II head coach with experience at all three levels of NCAA women’s basketball, has been named Saint Leo University’s new head women’s basketball coach.
“We were looking for a coach with a proven record of success in Division II women’s basketball, and out of an incredibly deep pool of applicants we found an ideal fit in Anthony Crocitto,” said Francis X. Reidy, Saint Leo’s director of athletics. “I believe that Coach Crocitto’s passion for the game coupled with his experience at identifying, recruiting, and developing talent at this level, will quickly lead to greater success for Saint Leo women’s basketball.”
Crocitto comes to Saint Leo from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), where he has served as the Bears’ head women’s basketball coach for the past seven seasons. Under Crocitto’s guidance, NYIT has logged three 20-win campaigns over the last four seasons, rejuvenating a program that was 4-23 in the year prior to his arrival at the Old Westbury, N.Y. campus.
“I am very excited to be the head women’s basketball coach at Saint Leo,” said Crocitto. “There are so many attractive qualities about this University, from the location to the facilities to the staff. These qualities and more will be relied upon in recruiting student-athletes who will excel on the court and in the classroom here at Saint Leo.”
“I would like to thank Director of Athletics Fran Reidy, Associate Athletics Director Michelle Edwards, and the entire search committee for the support and trust in me. In a short period of time, I have found this to be a wonderful place and already feel at home. I intend to instill a fun, athletic, and exciting style of play that our student-athletes will enjoy playing and our fans will enjoy watching. I look forward to seeing you out at our games next season,” said Crocitto.
With Crocitto at the helm, NYIT posted a 115-90 overall record, including an 87-36 mark over the last four seasons. He was named the 2015-16 East Coast Conference Coach of the Year, after leading NYIT to a new program record for wins with a 26-9 mark and an appearance in the NCAA regional championship game.
Under Crocitto’s tutelage, NYIT produced one WBCA Honorable Mention All-American, an ECC Player of the Year, 16 ECC All-Conference selections, and eight All-Metropolitan Team players.
Along with success on the basketball court, Crocitto’s NYIT teams became role models in the community and in the classroom. His student-athletes were involved in community outreach with groups ranging from the Girl Scouts to the Knights of Columbus, and last year posted a 3.40 team grade points average. In addition to his role as head women’s basketball coach, Crocitto also assisted NYIT Athletics with development and alumni relations projects.
“As I learned more about Anthony Crocitto, it became apparent his personal philosophy to life, community, and athletics already embraces many of our core values here at Saint Leo. I am confident that he, his wife Kristin, and his children Nikos and Skai will be welcomed warmly by the Saint Leo community,” said Reidy.
Prior to accepting the head coaching position at NYIT, Crocitto served as an assistant coach at Longwood University (2007-09), the University of Central Florida (2006-07), Hofstra University (2004-06), and Fairleigh Dickinson University (2002-04). Altogether, Crocitto has nearly 20 years of collegiate women’s basketball coaching experience.
Crocitto earned his first head coaching assignment in 1997, when he was named head women’s basketball coach at Dowling College, after serving as an assistant during the previous two seasons. In 2001, he moved to Boston to become head coach at Mount Ida College during the program’s first season in Division III, and guided the Mustangs to a 10-14 record.
A native of Amityville, N.Y., Crocitto received his Bachelor’s degree in management from Hofstra University in 1995.