Chris Santo '15 is in his fourth season as an assistant coach for the Saint Anselm men's basketball program after joining in the staff in the summer of 2016.
During his four-season tenure as an assistant to Head Coach Keith Dickson, the squad has claimed two Northeast-10 Conference postseason titles, earned berths to four consecutive NCAA Division II tournaments and won an East Region Championship in 2019.
Since rejoining the program as an assistant in 2016, Santo and the Hawks have logged an 89-32 (.736) overall record that includes 60 victories over conference opponents. Saint Anselm currently enjoys an active streak of eight NCAA Division II postseason tournament appearances, the third-longest stretch in the country.
In 2018, Santo was honored by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in its 2017-18 Under Armour 30-under-30 honorees. The annual list recognizes up-and-coming young coaches in men's college basketball across Division I, II and III. In 2020, Santo was selected by Silver Waves Media on its list of the 50 Impactful NCAA Division II Assistants.
Santo returned to the Hilltop after a stint with Falken Cynergi Virtus of the Malta Basketball Association in Ta'Qali, Malta. He helped lead the team to a 27-3 mark and the MBA First Division Championship by averaging 25.2 points, 10.8 rebounds, 3.5 steals and 2.9 assists per game.
In three years at Saint Anselm, Santo and the Hawks went 64-24 overall and earned three NCAA Tournament bids, while appearing in the 2014 NCAA East Regional Final. He currently ranks 14th in program history with 1,487 points and 10th in both scoring average (16.9) and field goals made (588).
His senior year, Santo averaged 21.4 points per game on 62.2% shooting and was named the Northeast-10 Player of the Year and an All-NE-10 First Team selection. He was also named to the NABC All-America Team, NABC East All-District First Team and Daktronics All-America Honorable Mention squad. He also appeared in the NABC Reese's Division II College All Star Game.
Santo first came to Saint Anselm after one year at the University of Vermont, where the Catamounts won the 2012 America East Championship.
The Manchester resident graduated in 2015 with a Bachelor of Arts in secondary education and history.
