STEPHENVILLE, Texas – Tarleton State Men's Basketball head coach Billy Gillispie announced the promotion of Glynn Cyprien to associate head coach as well as the announcement of his full staff ahead of his sixth season at the helm of the Texan program.
 
Gillispie announced the promotion of former assistant coach Glynn Cyprien to associate head coach ahead of the 2025-26 season. He also announced the return of Joseph Jones from the 2023-24 staff who will serve as the director of strategic planning as well as the addition of two new coaches to the program, Jacob Hayslip and Ashton Arnold.
 
"This is an outstanding group of coaches, leaders and men," said Coach Gillispie. "They have achieved at the very highest level of college and professional basketball. They excel in making a difference every day in the lives of young men which is the greatest responsibility a coach can perform. We have had the good fortune of having great assistant coaches during at Tarleton State. All of these men will soon be head coaches if they choose, like the 24 others we have had the luck to be around in the past. This could be the best group yet.
 
Glynn Cyprien is entering his second year with the Texans and will continue his time with a new title, associate head coach. He joined Gillispie a season ago after serving on his staff when Gillispie was the head coach at the University of Kentucky. He comes to Tarleton State after 13 stops as a Division I assistant and four years in professional basketball. Cyprien possesses nearly three decades of experience between the NBA, the NBA G League, the NCAA Division I and the Junior Olympic levels. He has served as a head coach, an associate head coach and an assistant coach during his career in addition to executive office experience with the NBA's Memphis Grizzlies.
 
"I am truly grateful and thankful for the opportunity to coach at Tarleton State, next to head coach Billy Gillispie," said Cyprien. I think he is one of the premiere college coaches in the country. I am looking forward to another year of this program growing and having success on and off the floor."
 
As an assistant coach, Cyprien has been part of 564 victories over his 29 seasons at the collegiate level. Serving on the staff at the Division I level, he has appeared in 12 NCAA Tournaments and four National Invitational Tournaments. Over his last 20 collegiate seasons, Cyprien has been associated with 18 winning seasons and 12 campaigns with 20-plus victories. His international experience includes a stint as an assistant coach for the Nigerian National Team in the 2019 FIBA Men's Basketball World Cup in China. Cyprien served on the staff of a pair of NCAA Final Four teams, Oklahoma State and Texas Tech.
 
"Coach Cyp has done a great job everywhere that he has been," said Gillispie. "He brings everything you could ask for in an assistant. He understands that there is no more important responsibility than developing relationships with the players that last a lifetime. He is great at helping us develop the culture of Tarleton State Basketball. On top of all that, Cyprien is a winner. He has been a vital member of many good teams including two final four contenders, the ultimate goal for every basketball program."

Cyprien enjoyed a two-year playing career at Southern University-New Orleans. He was a two-year letter winner for the Knights basketball program. Prior to his collegiate career, he was a part of the Louisiana Junior Olympic. He was a two-year letterman in both basketball and football during his time from 1981-85. During his junior campaign, he earned All-City Honorable Mention for basketball in 1984.
 
Joseph Jones is a familiar face that returns to the Texan bench. Jones was a member of the Texan staff for 3.5 seasons before leaving before the 2024-25 campaign to serve as an assistant coach at UTSA. During his time with the Texans, he served as an assistant coach after being hired midway through the 2020-21 season until the fourth game of the 2023-24 season. On Nov. 19, 2023, Jones was named the acting head coach of the Texans when coach Gillispie had to step away from the team due to medical circumstances.
 
" I am super excited to be back at Tarleton State," said coach Jones. "The support that we get here from Texan Nation has always been great and that means a lot to us."
 
Jones led the 2023-24 squad for the remainder of the season, tallying a 23-8 overall regular season record. Under coach Jones, the Texans played 27 regular season games, recording 21 wins and six losses. For his efforts, Jones was named the 2023-24 WAC Coach of the Year, the first recipient in conference history to not start the season as the head coach. Jones took the head coach responsibilities for the first time in his career and his 21 wins was the most among any first-year coaches in all D1 during the 2023-24 season. He helped guide the Texans to a second-place finish in the WAC, owning a 16-4 record and the second seed in the WAC Tournament.
 
"Joseph has been a natural in the art of coaching," said Gillispie. "He had natural leadership tendencies even as a freshman player at Texas A&M. He is knowledgeable as a coach and is a leader of men. I doubt that that no one ever took over a more challenging situation two years ago and did a better job than he did. He was fabulous. We are so blessed and lucky to have him back here at Tarleton State."
 
Prior to his coaching career, Jones spent 14 seasons as a professional player and ended his career in Puerto Rico. Jones played for coach Gillispie for three years at Texas A&M, where he was inducted into the Texas A&M Hall of Fame in 2019. At Texas A&M, Jones earned All-Big 12 honors every season and was a member of the Big 12 All-Freshman Team in 2005 as well as a NABC All-District honoree in 2006, 2007 and 2008. Academically, he was a member of the All-Big 12 Academic Team in 2006 and ultimately graduated with a bachelor's degree in agricultural leadership and development in 2007. Entering his senior season, Jones was featured on the front cover of Sports Illustrated.
 
Jacob Hayslip joins the Texans after spending three seasons as an assistant coach at Itawamba Community College in Fulton, Miss. During his time on the bench for the Indians, the squad was 68-19. Itawamba had its most wins during his tenure last season when the squad went 25-6. During his three seasons, he helped send four Indians to Division I program including 2025-26 Tarleton State incoming signee, AJ Dent. During his time with Itawamba, Hayslip helped assist with everything basketball related including camps, coaching responsibilities and day-to-day operations.
 
"I'm extremely blessed and excited to be a part of Coach Gillispie's staff at Tarleton State," said Hayslip. "His high-level experience in the business combined with the talented group of players he's recruited for this year makes me confident that this year will be special for everyone involved. Tarleton State is an awesome place, and I can't wait to get to work in the fall."

Prior to Itawamba, Hayslip spent six years in the Western Kentucky University program. As an undergraduate student with the Hilltoppers, he spent four seasons as an equipment manager. He oversaw preparing equipment for practices, travel and game days as well as helping with graphic design for recruiting purposes. In 2020, he was elevated to a graduate assistant after graduating from WKU with an undergraduate degree in Spanish and minors in mathematics and athletic coaching. As a graduate assistant, Hayslip duties included assisting with the day-to-day operations of the program, assisting with all practices, workouts and games, processing practice and game film, and creating general and customized recruiting material. He also specialized in player development. In 2022, he graduated with a master's degree in recreation and sports administration with a concentration in athletic coaching.
 
"Jacob is a young coach who has an immense amount of talent in many areas, said coach Gillispie. "He has the work ethic and the ability to communicate which gives him the chance to become a star in this business."

Ashton Arnold served as an assistant coach at Eastern Florida State College last season. His duties included recruiting, opponent scouting reports, film breakdown and player development. He was a part of the first-year staff that won 23 games, the most by a first-year staff in program history. The Titans were ranked in the NJCAA D1 Top 25 for the first 11 weeks of the season, being ranked as high as number eight on weeks two and three. He helped lead all five starters to committing to Division I programs at the end of the season.
 
"I am beyond grateful to begin this journey at Tarleton State University and to have the opportunity to work with and learn from a coach as accomplished as Coach Gillispie, said Arnold. "From my very first conversation with Coach Gillispie and his staff, it was clear that this is a special program—one committed to placing its student-athletes in the best position to succeed, not only on the court but, more importantly, in life."
 
He earned his bachelor's degree from BYU in general studies with an emphasis in business management. While a student at BYU, he served as the head junior varsity and assistant varsity coach at Orem High School from 2022 to 2024. He held a 39-9 overall head coaching record at the JV level. He assisted with the development of six future Division I athletes after graduation from Orem HS. The Tigers won back-to-back conference championships and made back-to-back Utah State Quarterfinals appearances. He graduated with his associate degree in business management at Ventura College. Arnold played one season for Ventura football as a wide receiver.
 
"Ashton comes from a great basketball family," said Gillispie. "As good as he is, he has already began establishing himself as a rising star in the business. It will be fun to watch and benefit from his abilities as he helps the Texans."
 
His grandfather, Frank Arnold, served as an assist coach legendary college basketball coach John Wooden to 3 NCAA championships at UCLA. He then became the head coach at BYU where he led the program to the Elite Eight, their most recent trip in program history. His father, Gib Arnold, served as a college basketball coach at six Division I programs as well as an NBA scout for the Boston Celtics for five seasons. Currently, Gib Arnold is Director of Mental Performance & Player Personnel at the University of Washington.
 
The Tarleton State Texans will play their first basketball game in the EECU Center on Oct. 19^th against TCU at 3 p.m.  It will mark the first of two men's exhibitions to start the season in the $130 million new arena on campus. Season tickets are available now for the entire 2025-26 men's and women's basketball schedules.