Thomas Lloyd (born December 21, 1974) is an American college basketball coach who is the current head coach at the University of Arizona of the Big 12 Conference. His 148 wins in the first five seasons and 61 wins in the first two seasons are the most for any head coach in NCAA Division I history.
In the summer of 2024, he was the head coach of the United States men's national under-19 basketball team at the 2024 FIBA U18 MenâÂÂs AmeriCup in Buenos Aires. Lloyd continued his role in 2025 as the USA basketball men's UâÂÂ19 coach and coached at the 2025 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Lausanne.
Born and raised in Kelso, Washington, Lloyd graduated from Kelso High School in 1993. During his senior year, he led the Hilanders to a 21âÂÂ4 record and to the WIAA state 4A tournament, their first appearance in fifteen years.
Lloyd began his collegiate career at Walla Walla Community College in Walla Walla; his 52 points against Treasure Valley Community College still stands as the school's single-game record. In his sophomore season, he averaged over twenty points per game and was selected to the Northwest Athletic Association of Community Colleges (now Northwest Athletic Conference) Eastern All-Star team. After graduating from WWCC, Lloyd transferred to Colorado State UniversityâÂÂPueblo. After one year with the ThunderWolves, he returned to Walla Walla to play his senior season at Whitman College, and graduated in 1998.
Lloyd played professionally in Australia and Germany.
According to a 2020 story by ESPN journalist Jeff Borzello, Lloyd's journey to his assistant coach position at Gonzaga actually began while he was playing in junior college. At the time, Gonzaga was still recruiting in Walla Walla's conference. After watching Lloyd, Gonzaga coach Dan Monson told him that he would not be offered a scholarship, but that if he ever wanted to go into coaching, he should give Monson a call. He made the call to Monson after his Whitman career, but had to back out once receiving an opportunity to play overseas. After his playing career, he and his wife Chanelle spent several months backpacking on several continents before he decided to begin a coaching career. By that time, Monson had left for Minnesota immediately after Gonzaga's 1999 Elite Eight run, and his top assistant Mark Few had replaced him as the Zags' head coach. Few honored the tacit agreement Monson had made with Lloyd, and Lloyd joined the men's basketball staff as a volunteer administrative assistant in 2000, becoming a full-time assistant the next year.
Lloyd soon became Gonzaga's key international recruiter. He began to develop a niche as an international recruiter early in his tenure on Few's staff. In Borzello's story, Few recalled that one area where he wanted Lloyd to develop was recruiting, telling him that in order to become an assistant at a top program, he needed a niche. Few told Borzello,
Among the international players that Lloyd has played a role in recruiting are former Bulldogs Mario Kasun (Croatia), Ronny Turiaf (France), J.P. Batista (Brazil), Abdullahi Kuso (Nigeria), Robert Sacre (Canada), Kelly Olynyk (Canada), Elias Harris (Germany), Kevin Pangos (Canada), Przemek Karnowski (Poland), Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania), Rui Hachimura (Japan), Killian Tillie (France), Filip Petruà ¡ev (Serbia), Joël Ayayi (France), Martynas Arlauskas (Lithuania), Pavel Zakharov (Russia), and Oumar Ballo (Mali). Lloyd has also been integral in developing NBA players for Gonzaga like Turiaf, Adam Morrison, Jeremy Pargo, Austin Daye, Sacre, Olynyk, Kyle Wiltjer, Sabonis, Zach Collins, Hachimura, and Brandon Clarke.
Lloyd had previously turned down numerous interview requests for head-coaching positions during his Gonzaga tenure. He was contractually guaranteed of becoming the Bulldogs' next head coach upon Few's departure. Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said, "Tommy has it in writing from me and the [university] president that says, as long as he's here, when Mark retires, it's your job. He's got a document. I've got a document. The president's got a document. Our general counsel has a document. It's his job." However, in 2021, Lloyd left Gonzaga for the head-coaching position at the University of Arizona.
Two weeks after the 2021 NCAA tournament ended, Lloyd was announced as a candidate for the vacant head-coaching position at Arizona, which had been led the previous 12 seasons by Sean Miller. On April 15, 2021, Lloyd was introduced as Arizona's 18th head basketball coach. Coach Lloyd earned his first win in his first collegiate game as a head coach on November 9, 2021, beating Northern Arizona 81âÂÂ52. Two weeks after his first career coaching victory, he earned his first victory over a ranked opponent, No. 4 Michigan, 80âÂÂ62 to win the Roman Main Event and start the season 5âÂÂ0. Also with his 5âÂÂ0 start, Coach Lloyd became the first in division I history to win his first five games, win by an average of 30 points per game & beat an AP top-5 team. Arizona entered the top 25 AP Poll for the first time under Coach Lloyd at Number 17, on November 22, 2021. On December 5, Coach Lloyd defeated his first Pac-12 opponent in his first Pac-12 game, the Oregon State Beavers, 90âÂÂ65. In the December 13, 2021, AP poll, Arizona reached the top 10 for the first time under coach Lloyd, coming in at number 8. Coach Lloyd lost the first game of his career & season in Knoxville on December 22, 2021, 73âÂÂ77 against no. 19 Tennessee. On January 17, 2022, Arizona made it into the top 5 for the first time under Coach Lloyd, coming in at no. 3 in the AP poll. It was the program's first time in the top 5 since the 2017âÂÂ18 season. The AP poll's update on February 21, 2022, placed Arizona no. 2 in the nation, following only Lloyd's former team, Gonzaga. Coach Lloyd & the Arizona Wildcats would win their 1st regular season conference title under Lloyd & 17th overall as a program with a 91âÂÂ71 win over USC. After defeating Cal in the final regular season game, 89âÂÂ61, Arizona & Coach Lloyd became the first program & coach to win 18 conference games in one season. They earned the Number 1 seed in the 2022 Pac-12 tournament. Coach Lloyd & Arizona would go on to defeat Stanford 84âÂÂ80 in the Quarterfinals, Colorado 82âÂÂ72 in the Semifinals & UCLA 84âÂÂ76 in the finals to win ArizonaâÂÂs eighth conference tournament title overall & Coach LloydâÂÂs first. Following the end of the season Coach Lloyd won the AP Coach of the Year, NABC Coach of the Year & USBWA Coach of the Year.
Before the 2022âÂÂ23 season, Arizona had three players, Bennedict Mathruin (Pacers), Dalen Terry(Bulls) & Christian Koloko (Raptors) taken in the 2022 NBA draft. Arizona would begin the season 6âÂÂ0, which included winning the 2023 Maui Invitational with wins over No.17 San Diego State & No. 10 Creighton. The team also played in the Las Vegas Clash, a neutral site game against No. 14 Indiana, which Arizona won 89âÂÂ75. Arizona's last big non-conference matchup would feature a home game against No. 6 Tennessee, with Arizona winning 75âÂÂ70. Arizona & Coach Lloyd would end the non-conference part of the schedule with a record of 12âÂÂ0. Lloyd would become the fastest coach to 50 wins, doing so in 57 games, with a 58âÂÂ52 win over their rival No. 5 UCLA, it was Arizona's 5th win over a ranked team during the season. Arizona would end the season losing to their rival in Los Angeles, 73âÂÂ82, giving them an overall record of 25âÂÂ6 & 14âÂÂ6 in conference play. They would enter postseason play ranked No. 8 overall & the No. 2 in the 2023 Pac-12 Tournament in Las Vegas. Arizona defeated No. 10 seed Stanford Cardinal 95âÂÂ84, which was his 59th career win, the most of any head coach to start their coaching career. Arizona defeated Arizona State in the Semifinals, 78-59. Arizona then defeated rivals UCLA 61-59 to win ArizonaâÂÂs ninth conference tournament title overall, and the second title in a row. He became the first power conference head coach to win his conference tournament championships in his first two seasons as head coach. Arizona earn a No. 2 seed in the South Region of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with a first round match up against Ivy League Champion and No. 15 seed Princeton. Arizona was upset 55âÂÂ59, ending their season with an overall record of 28âÂÂ7. His 61 wins through his first two seasons as head coach are the most in Division I history.
Arizona began the 2024âÂÂ25 season as a member of the Big-12 Conference after spending the previous 50 seasons in the Pac-12 Conference. The team was ranked number 10 in the preseason AP Poll. Arizona ended non-conference play 6âÂÂ5 with a 4th place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis. Lloyd would win his first Big 12 conference game in the first match up against TCU 90âÂÂ81. Coach Lloyd won his 100th game as head coach doing so in his 126th game overall and became the 10th fastest to do so in a Power Conference.
To start the 2025âÂÂ26 season, Arizona was ranked number 13 in the preseason AP Poll. Arizona ended their non-conference play with 13âÂÂ0, defeating the defending national champion No. 3 Florida, No. 13 UCLA, No. 3 UConn, No. 20 Auburn and No. 12 Alabama. Lloyd and the Wildcats would go on to start the season 23âÂÂ0, which was the best start in school and Big 12 history. Arizona would suffer its first loss of the season at No. 9 Kansas 78âÂÂ82, followed by a second consecutive loss to No. 16 Texas Tech 75âÂÂ78 in overtime. The Wildcats would win their final six regular season games against No. 23 BYU, No. 2 Houston, No. 14 Kansas and No. 6 Iowa State to win their second Big 12 regular season title, finishing with a 29âÂÂ2 record and number 1 overall seed in the Big 12 Tournament. On March 12, 2026 Coach Lloyd won the The Sporting News Men's College Basketball Coach of the Year Award, the first Arizona coach in history to win the award.
Lloyd became the head coach of the United States under-19 men's national basketball team in 2024. Lloyd coached the 2024 FIBA U18 MenâÂÂs AmeriCup in Buenos Aires, Argentina from June 3âÂÂ9, 2024 alongside his assistant coaches Grant McCasland (Texas Tech University) and Micah Shrewsberry (University of Notre Dame). The team won gold by going 6âÂÂ0, winning by an average of 41.5 points. With the win the team qualified for the 2025 FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup in Switzerland.
Coach Lloyd led the United States U-19 Team in Switzerland from June 28 â July 6. The team went 7âÂÂ0, scoring an average of 114.7 points winning by an average of 39 points, defeating Germany 109âÂÂ76 in the Championship Game. Grant McCasland and Micah Shrewsberry reprised their roles as assistant coaches. On January 7, 2026, Coach Lloyd was named Team USA 2025 Junior Coach of the Year.
Tommy Lloyd and his wife Chanelle built a new house in Spokane in 2018, with a "video game system covered in Gonzaga paraphernalia in the basement." They have two daughters and one son, including Liam, who plays basketball at Arizona. During the construction of their former home, the family lived in the childhood home of Bulldogs legend and Hall of Famer John Stockton. Since becoming coach at Arizona, Lloyd has become an avid pickleball player. His favorite band is Beastie Boys.