Arizona's Tommy Lloyd's Standing in the Big 12 Conference

Arizona's Tommy Lloyd was ranked in a recent Big 12 coaches ranking that On3 put out ahead o the 2025-26 season.

Dec 18, 2024; Tucson, Arizona, USA; Arizona Wildcats head coach Tommy Lloyd watches the game during the first half against the Samford Bulldogs at McKale Center. Mandatory Credit: Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images | Aryanna Frank-Imagn Images

We are a long way out from the start of the 2025-26 college basketball season, which will yet again have high expectations for Arizona basketball and head coach Tommy Lloyd with a team that will more than likely be ranked inside the preseason AP Poll top 15.

Despite losing in the Sweet Sixteen 100-93 against No. 1 seed Duke, Arizona will welcome back four key players from last year’s team and the nation’s No. 5 recruiting class that features two 5-star recruits in a class of seven prospects.

The seven player class is headlined by Koa Peat, Brayden Burries and Dwayne Aristode with all three ranking in the top 100 of 24/7 Sports’ recruiting database.

Throughout the time that Lloyd has been the head coach of Arizona, the Wildcats have gone 112-33 making the NCAA Tournament every season and have gone as far as the Sweet Sixteen three times with one first-round exit to Princeton during the 2022-23 season.

This past year, Arizona was able to finish No. 3 in the Big 12 Conference in the team’s first year after coming from the Pac-12.

The conference is loaded with elite teams and coaches with seven teams making the NCAA Tournament and all being seeded as a 9-seed, or higher.

With loaded teams comes great coaches and recently On3’s James Fletcher lll ranked the top ten coaches in the Big 12 for this upcoming season and Arizona’s Lloyd made the list.

The rankings weren’t based off of last season alone and was about the overall career of the coaches and the trajectory of the programs.

Feb 8, 2025; Manhattan, Kansas, USA; Kansas Jayhawks head coach Bill Self watches his team during the second half against the Kansas State Wildcats at Bramlage Coliseum. Mandatory Credit: Scott Sewell-Imagn Images | Scott Sewell-Imagn Images

The top three in order went Houston’s Kelvin Sampson, Kansas’ Bill Self and Baylor’s Scott Drew. All three coaches are the longest tenured head coaches in the conference and have combined for three national titles, eight final four appearances and have made the NCAA Tournament 38 times.

After the top three, the list goes in order with Iowa State’s TJ Otzelberger, Texas Tech’s Grant McCasland and Lloyd at No. 6 overall.

All three coaches are up-and-coming coaches in the conference with all three being at their schools four years, or less but have seen plenty of success and have the programs moving in the right direction.

Top 10 Big 12 Coaches

- 1. Kelvin Sampson - Houston (2014-present, record: 299-84)

- 2. Bill Self - Kansas (2003-present, record: 609-148)

- 3. Scott Drew - Baylor (2003-present, record: 466-258)

- 4. TJ Otzelberger - Iowa State (2021-present, record: 95-45)

- 5. Grant McCasland - Texas Tech (2023-present, record: 51-20)

- 6. Tommy Lloyd - Arizona (2021-present, record: 112-33)

- 7. Kevin Young - BYU (2024-present, record: 26-10)

- 8. Jamie Dixon - TCU (2016-present, record: 172-120)

- 9. Wes Miller - Cincinnati (2021-present, record: 82-59)

- 10. Ross Hodge - West Virginia (newly hired)

Now, the Wildcats and Lloyd will be heading into the 2025-26 season looking to break through the Sweet Sixteen barrier that has eluded the program dating back to the 2014-15 season.

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