Anthony Crocitto, a veteran Division II head coach with experience at all three levels of NCAA women's basketball, was named Saint Leo University's 13th head women's basketball coach on May 4, 2016. Crocitto enters his ninth year at the lead for the Lions in the 2024-25 campaign.
During his eight years at the helm, Crocitto has compiled a 93-113 record at Saint Leo, earned three Sunshine State Conference (SSC) post-season appearances, has celebrated seven all-conference honors including Freshman of the Year (Amanda Ulrich), Defensive Player of the Year (Alani Gallagher), and Newcomer of the Year (Tori Lesko) honors. Under his direction, Amanda Ulrich was named CoSIDA Academic All-District in 2020-2021. In addition, he has led the Lions to the most season SSC victories (10) in program history and has seen a pair of assistant coaches named on the WBCA ‘Thirty Under 30’ list.
Fast Facts
Alma mater: Hofstra, 1995
Seasons coached: 19
Coaching record: 238-252 (.485)
Seasons coached at Saint Leo: 8
Record at Saint Leo: 93-113 (.451)
By Season at Saint Leo
2023-2024: The Lions concluded the season with a 12-16 overall record and a 6-14 mark in SSC action to place ninth in the conference standings. Saint Leo led the league in team defensive rebounds with an average of 28.5 per game in addition to holding opposing offenses to the second lowest three-point percentage in the SSC with a rate of .292.
2022-2023: Saint Leo finished the season with a 14-15 record. Amanda Ulrich had another great season where she earned an All-SSC Second Team honor.
2021-2022: Saint Leo finished the season with a 17-12 record before falling to Barry University in the quarter-finals of the SSC Tournament. The Green and Gold season was successful finishing with two players earning SSC Honors (All-SSC First Team Amanda Ulrich and All-SSC Newcomer Team Ayanna Trigg).
2020-2021: Saint Leo (3-3) advanced to the SSC Semifinals for the second consecutive season. Despite a multitude of Covid-19 protocols, the Green and Gold were able to find tremendous success translating to three all-conference honors. In addition, Amanda Ulrich was named CoSIDA All-District.
2019-2020: The Lions (15-15, 10-10 SSC) recorded the program's most conference wins while earning hosting rights in the SSC quarterfinals as the fourth-seed. The Green and Gold punched their ticket to the league's semifinals followed by the team's fifth all-time player in the form of Amanda Ulrich to receive all-tournament honors since 1982. Crocitto saw Ulrich become the conference Freshman of the Year alongside Alani Gallagher's Defensive Player of the Year title, also a program's first. Both found themselves on the All-SSC Second Team while Ulrich also picked up an All-SSC Newcomer Team selection.
2018-2019: Crocitto’s third year tallied a finish of 10-18 overall, 5-15 in the SSC. On December 4, 2018, he saw sophomore guard Delaney Bernard break the program’s single game three-point field goal record. Bernard knocked down 10-of-12 three-pointers during her career-high 32-point performance against Trinity. Before the season began, assistant coach Amber Moore was named among the WBCA ‘Thirty Under 30’ honoree list.
2017-2018: In his second season at Saint Leo, Crocitto led the program to a 13-16 season finish while earning the second highest SSC wins in program history, going 8-12 in the SSC. Crocitto led the Lions to back-to-back SSC Tournament appearances in the form of a 67-55 win over Rollins on Feb. 24 to clinch a ticket to the postseason.
2016-2017: During his first season at Saint Leo, Crocitto guided the program to a 9-18 season, increasing the Lions’ win total, including winning more Sunshine State Conference games, and earning a spot in the SSC Tournament. Crocitto picked up his 150th win in the Lions’ take down of NAIA for Florida Memorial on Nov. 19. He saw his senior forward Chelsy Springs earn First Team All-SSC honors, along with D2CCA All South Region Second Team accolades. He also saw his assistant coach, Megan Dzikas, earn a spot on the WBCA ‘Thirty Under 30’ honoree list. Prior to the season, Crocitto was named the Sunshine State Conference Captain for the Women's Basketball Coaches Association.
Coaching History
Crocitto came to Saint Leo from the New York Institute of Technology (NYIT), where he has served as the Bears' head women's basketball coach from 2009-2016. Under Crocitto's guidance, NYIT logged three 20-win campaigns in 2012-13, 2014-15, and 2015-16, rejuvenating a program that was 4-23 in the 2008-09 season, the year prior to his arrival at the Old Westbury, N.Y. campus.
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.
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.
Personal History
A native of Amityville, N.Y., Crocitto received his Bachelor's degree in management from Hofstra University in 1995. He and his wife Kristin have two children, Skai Grace, and Nikos Joseph.
