Wildcats’ Tommy Lloyd named Coach of the Year by NABC

One year under his belt and Tommy Lloyd is already receiving recognition.

The National Association of Basketball Coaches named Lloyd as Coach of the Year on Tuesday. The award comes a year following Gonzaga’s Mark Few winning it. Lloyd served as an assistant coach under Few for 20 years.

In addition to the award, Lloyd will receive a $20,000 bonus according to Bruce Pascoe of the Arizona Daily Star.

Under Lloyd, the Arizona Wildcats won 33 games over the season, the third most in school history. The 84 points per game were third-best in the nation. Arizona went on to win the Pac-12 Tournament and finished the regular season as the No. 2 team in the nation behind Gonzaga.

In the school’s first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since 2018, the Wildcats secured a top seed in the South region. Arizona won games against Wright State and TCU, advancing to the Sweet 16 before losing to Houston.

“Overall it was great. I thanked these guys after the game. They’re an amazing group of guys,” Lloyd said following the loss to Houston on Thursday. “I’ll always be thankful for them. I think they helped me get Arizona basketball off to a good start in my tenure, and I’ll always be thankful for them.”

Along with the honor, Lloyd was awarded the Pac-12 Coach of the Year in early March. Bennedict Mathurin (Player of the Year), Christian Koloko (Defensive and Most Improved Player of the Year) and Pelle Larsson (Sixth Man of the Year) also won conference awards, adding to the long list of success Arizona accomplished this season.

“I think we really built some foundational pieces this year that are really going to serve us well moving forward,” Lloyd said. “Extremely proud of the guys. Extremely proud of the coaching staff.”

Lloyd is also one of four finalists for the Werner Ladder Naismith Coach of the Year award. The winner will be announced on April 3.