Basti came to Sacred Heart after serving as the Associate Head Coach at the University of Hartford from 2009-2013.

In his first season as head coach in 2014, the Pioneers went 6-9 and were 4-2 in Northeast Conference play. Sacred Heart earned a berth to the NEC Tournament for the second straight season as well. Five Pioneers earned All-NEC honors in 2014, with a program-high three student-athletes (Cody Marquis, Alex Miller, and Andrew Newbold) on the First Team.

During his tenure at Hartford, the Hawks won their first-ever America East Championship and earned their first NCAA Tournament berth in 2011. Under Bastis guidance, face-off specialist Tim Fallon became the fourth Hartford Hawk to be named a Division I All-American and the first player in program history to be a repeat All-American. Fallon led the nation in 2010 with 9.4 ground balls per game and a 62.2 face-off percentage.

Basti now presides over the program where his coaching career began. He was an assistant coach at Sacred Heart from 2000-02, working with the face-off and defensive units. Basti then was the head coach at Eastern Connecticut State from 2002-04, leading ECSU to two Little East Conference titles and a pair of NCAA Tournament appearances.

A 1999 graduate of Fairfield University with degrees in both politics and history, Basti was a member of the Stags 1996 and 1997 MAAC championship teams. Basti also received his Masters Degree from Fairfield in Education/Social Studies in 2002. He returned to his alma mater in 2005 and was an assistant coach for three seasons. In 2005, the Stags were ranked as high as 15th in the national polls and won the Great Western Lacrosse League championship. He then spent one year at Lafayette before moving on to Hartford.