Coast Guard vs Sacred Heart prediction: Sacred Heart opens a near-total rebuild against Coast Guard
With 16.0% of last season's minutes back, the Pioneers' first game is less about the opponent than about who replaces a departed shooting core.
- Sacred Heart should control a home opener against a Coast Guard team that was 7-17 overall and 3-12 in the NEWMAC when last seen in February.
- Watch Quinnipiac transfer Samson Reilly, who hit 48.1% of his threes last season, in a system built on the three.
- No line has been posted. Last season's 336th-ranked adjusted defence is the number that bears most on any total.
Starting over at the Pitt Center
Sacred Heart's season opens Monday, Nov. 2, at the William H. Pitt Center, and the Pioneers will look almost nothing like the team that went 14-19 last season. Only 16.0% of last season's minutes and 13.5% of its points return.
The departures cut deepest on the perimeter. Nyle Ralph-Beyer scored 14.3 points a game and made 44% of his 209 three-point attempts. Dashon Gittens added 13.5 points, and Yann Farell shot 41.1% from deep. Last season's team numbers describe that group, not this one, so treat them as a sketch of the system rather than a forecast.
Who keeps the threes coming
Under Anthony Latina, who coached his 13th season at Sacred Heart in 2025-26, the Pioneers launched threes on 50.7% of their shots last season, 12th-most in Division I. They made 35.9%, which ranked 69th.
The likeliest heir to that role is Samson Reilly, who made 37 of 77 threes at Quinnipiac in 9.0 minutes a night. Jo Van Buggenhout arrives from Indiana State as a distributor, averaging 3.1 assists last season. Among returners, Jaden Slaughter brings the steadiest minutes at 20.7 per game, while Abdou Yadd used 26.2% of possessions when on the floor but shot 28.9% from three.
The opponent and the defence
Coast Guard plays outside Division I in the NEWMAC, and there is little to measure it by. The Bears' last result found was a 97-88 loss at Mitchell on Feb. 18, which left them 7-17 overall and 3-12 in the league.
The real question is Sacred Heart's own defence. Its adjusted defensive efficiency (points allowed per 100 possessions, adjusted for opponents) ranked 336th of 365 at the end of last season. A non-Division I opponent won't test that much, but a new rotation's habits on that end are worth tracking from the first night.
Key players
- Samson Reilly (Sacred Heart): Hit 48.1% of his threes at Quinnipiac last season, a fit for a system that lives beyond the arc.
- Jo Van Buggenhout (Sacred Heart): Averaged 3.1 assists in 20.8 minutes at Indiana State last season.
- Jaden Slaughter (Sacred Heart): Played 20.7 minutes a game last season, the most of any returner.
- Abdou Yadd (Sacred Heart): Used 26.2% of possessions last season but made just 28.9% of his threes.
Numbers that matter
| Returning minutes | 16.0% | Sacred Heart brings back very little of last season's rotation, so last season's team numbers are a loose guide. |
|---|---|---|
| 3-point attempt rate, last season | 50.7% | The Pioneers ranked 12th nationally in share of shots taken from three. |
| Adjusted defence rank, last season | 336th | Sacred Heart's defence finished near the bottom of Division I. |
| Coast Guard NEWMAC record | 3-12 | The Bears' league mark after their Feb. 18 loss at Mitchell. |
Coast Guard vs Sacred Heart: quick answers
When is Coast Guard vs Sacred Heart?
Monday, November 2, 2026 at 7:00 PM ET.