Men's Basketball

Rich Fazzi was named Head Coach at Massasoit CC on September 23rd, 2024.

 

Fazzi begins his tenure with at Massasoit after spending last season at UMass Boston and the previous season at Wheaton College.

 

The Philadelphia, Pa. native brings an impressive knowledge and experience base to the Warriors sideline. Fazzi has seven years of experience as a Head Coach at the collegiate level with stops at Dean College, Pine Manor College and most recently Newbury College. 

 

While at Newbury, Fazzi led the Nighthawks to their first-ever conference championship appearance and became the first coach to ever lead a number six seed to the New England Collegiate Conference title game. He made his two seasons at Newbury memorable, taking over a program that had won just three games and within two seasons quadrupled the Nighthawks’ win total, while guiding his 2018-19 squad to a pair of top-30 NCAA Division III finishes in two different statistics categories. 

 

Prior to his stint at Newbury, Fazzi made history as the first Head Men’s Basketball Coach at Pine Manor College, following the school’s transition to a co-educational institution in 2014-15. He was also an Assistant Athletic Directory at the school. In three seasons, he led the Gators to a combined record of 42-31 and earned back-to-back Eastern College Athletic Conference tournament berths in 2016 and 2017. Under his tutelage, Pine Manor led the nation in steals and steals per game, while topping all of Division III in turnover margin. The Gators also ranked second in points per game and fifth in offensive rebounds per game. Fazzi’s teams appearing in the national rankings became a common occurrence with the 2015-16 edition placing among the top-20 in steals per game, scoring per game and forced turnovers, while the 2016-17 team finished among the nation’s leaders in nine different statistical categories.

 

Before Dean College was granted status as a full NCAA Division III member, Fazzi was at the helm of the Bulldogs, where he registered a sterling 38-11 record for the highest winning percentage (77.5%) in school history. His recruiting efforts were highlighted by six All-Region selections and three All-Americans at the junior college level. Fazzi guided Dean to 13 straight wins to open the 2013-14 season and was ranked number one in the nation as part of a season that saw the Bulldogs earn a national ranking for every week of the campaign and a final standing of 11th in the national survey. He led Dean to the Region 21 crown and the District 2 Championship and earned a spot in the national tournament – all firsts for the program. The Bulldogs finished the season number one in steals per game and 11th in points per game. Dean experienced significant success the year before as well, earning a number nine national ranking and a spot on the national list for five seasons. Dean also found itself ranked fifth at season’s end in steals per game.

 

Fazzi’s collegiate coaching career began as an Assistant Coach at Newbury in 2005, before becoming the Associate Head Coach at Suffolk University during a five-year tenure with the Rams. His success at Suffolk was highlighted by the recruitment of the Great Northeast Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year. Fazzi’s final stop before ascending to the Head Coaching ranks was as the Head Assistant Coach at Endicott College, where he helped the Gulls capture a Commonwealth Coast Conference title in 2012.

 

In addition to his impressive coaching resume, Fazzi also spent the four years as the Director of Athletics at Saint John Paul II High School in Hyannis.

 

Fazzi graduated from Becker College, where he was a three-year starter and finished his career standing eighth on the school’s all-time scoring list. The former two-year Captain also played baseball and competed in golf for the Hawks. In addition, the 2004 Becker graduate also earned a Master of Science degree from Lasell College in 2014.