Despite a brutal end to the Arizona Wildcats' Final Four run in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, head coach Tommy Lloyd is taking home some hardware with the end to the team's 2025-26 campaign.
Lloyd completed the fifth season of his head coaching career with the Wildcats. He has lifted the program to serious prominence, making the NCAA Tournament in all five attempts. This season marked his best to date as he got them to the Final Four for the first time in his stint there.
His efforts, as well as a spectacular regular season, allowed him to garner recognition as one of the top head coaches in college basketball. Then came the Naismith Coach of the Year Award, which had him as a finalist before it finally went to him as the actual winner of the award.
TOMMY LLOYD IS YOUR NAISMITH COACH OF THE YEAR 👏 pic.twitter.com/BnVDRGkGH2
— NCAA March Madness (@MarchMadnessMBB) April 5, 2026
What lies ahead for Tommy Lloyd, Arizona
Tommy Lloyd remained humble about his accomplishment, saying the award should've gone to Michigan head coach Dusty May instead.
“When they send this award… I got Dusty’s home address on it. He’s deserving to be the Coach of the Year. He did an incredible job, and it’s as good as a well-coached team I’ve ever played against yesterday. That’s credit to him, and he has a good chance of bringing it home tomorrow,” Lloyd said.
He would be reasonable with that decision considering May had Michigan take down Lloyd and Arizona in the Final Four. The game wasn't even close as the Wolverines overwhelmed the Wildcats in a 91-73 blowout.
Lloyd has significantly improved as a head coach, but still has plenty to learn before he reaches the championship heights he aspires to. He ends Arizona's 2025-26 campaign with a 36-3 overall record, having gone 16-2 in its Big 12 matchups.
Winning both the regular season and tournament titles in the conference, Arizona went on to have its best run in the NCAA Tournament since 2001. They will hope to compete for the national title again next season.
