Coach Caruso came to Husson in 1984. He has seen the program
from almost all angles: as a freshman he appeared in only 13 games
but worked his way through the system and as a senior he was named
captain and averaged 14 points per game. While finishing school in
1988, head coach Bruce MacGregor invited him to join the staff, an
opportunity he quickly accepted. Coach Caruso would spend six years
as Coach MacGregor's assistant. During that time, coach's
responsibilities focused on recruiting, game preparation, and
practices. The program made four trips to the NAIA National
Tournament in those six years. The experience and knowledge gained
while working under legendary Coach MacGregor (526 career wins) is
extremely valuable today and helps make Coach Caruso's teams
successful. Coach Caruso's love for the basketball program comes
from his hard work as a player and as an assistant to help make the
program successful. This hard work and love helped Caruso to be
named head coach in 1994.
Coach Caruso begins his sixteenth year as head coach with an
overall record of 294-139. He has guided the program to six
conference championships and trips to the NAIA National Tournament
including three straight trips 2000, 2001, and 2002. There have
been many big wins over the years, one in 1999 when Husson defeated
Embry-Riddle University 89-75. Embry-Riddle went on to win the NAIA
National Championship that year in Branson, MO. The most memorable
win for Coach Caruso came in 1996 when Husson upset NCAA Div. I
University of Maine 73-72. Everyone who was at the game will
remember Chris Funk's 3-pointer going through the net with seven
seconds left to give Husson the win.
A 1989 graduate of Husson, Caruso earned a Bachelor Science Public
Accounting. Coach Caruso has run a family business since 1981 and
took over complete operations of Dana's Grill in 1988 from his
father Richard. Dana's Grill has been in operations in the Bangor
area since 1938.
Coach Caruso believes in education and to date, 34-38 of his seniors have graduated. He also feels that knowledge is gained though life experiences. Over the years, Husson has traveled throughout the United States, each year taking a trip to compete against some of the top programs in the country. Over the last fourteen years the program has traveled to Florida (5 times, California (3 times), Idaho (4 times), Canada (3 times), Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Missouri (3 times) and all over the Northeast regions.
Coach Caruso has been a member of the National Association of
Basketball Coaches since 1990, and Coach Caruso has served on the
NABC National Congress since 2006. In 2008 he served on the ECAC
Selection Committe for the ECAC New England Basketball
Championship. Caruso is the past president of the Maine
Basketball Coaches and Writers Association, an organization that
serves college basketball in Maine. In the past, he served on two
national committees with the NAIA, Men's Basketball Rating
Committee and Men's Basketball All-American Committee. Coach is
also the Co-director of Northeast Basketball Schools and Director
of Husson Hoops Clinics, summer camps for younger players.
Coach Caruso was born and raised in Bangor, Maine. He enjoys being
a part of the community where he grew up, went to school, works,
and is raising a family with his wife Nicole. Coach Caruso and
Nicole started dating in 1983 and married on September 29, 1990.
They have two children Nathan Richard Caruso born February 29, 1996
and Luke Ballard Caruso born March 23, 2001.
