Four-time NCAA Tournament and 12-time Coach of the Year head coach Billy Gillispie completed will begin his sixth year as the head coach of the Tarleton Men’s Basketball program for the 2025-26 season. On March 5, 2024, Tarleton State extended Gillispie through the 2025-26 season.
The Texans finished 12-20 and sixth in the WAC in Gillispie's fifth season at the helm of the program. Injuries plagued the Texans early on in the season as only five scholarship players were available for the non-conference slate. The Texans traveled to a program-most six Power Four programs including nationally-ranked Baylor with future NBA number three overall pick, VJ Edgecombe. The Texans made their first foreign trip of the Division I era, traveling to the Bahamas to compete in the Baha Mar Hoops Nassau Championship.
Tarleton State started off WAC play with a pair of victories and finished the regular season 7-9 in WAC play. The Purple and White earned a sixth seed in the conference tournament and matched up against the third seeded CBU Lancers in the quarterfinals. The Texans were unable to hold off a late CBU rally and fell, 55-51.
Texan freshman Keitenn Bristow became the second Texan to earn WAC Freshman of the Year in the last five seasons. Bristow joins Freddy Hicks as both Texans to win the award under Gillispie. The freshman led all freshman in the WAC in points per game and steals per game in WAC play. Bubu Benjamin was a consistent leader for the Purple and White leading in the Texans and ranking in the top 10 in the WAC in five categories: points per game, minutes per game, free throw percentage, steals and double-doubles. Chris Mpaka ranked third in blocks in the WAC and 59th in the nation with 51.
The Tarleton State defense anchored the squad, a staple of Gillispie's teams. The Texans ranked second in the nation and in the WAC forcing 16.66 turnovers per game. The Purple and White also ranked 11th in the nation and second in the league averaging 9.4 steals per game. Tarleton also ranked second in the conference in free throw shooting, shooting 73.3 percent from the line.
On Jan.30, Gillispie became the fifth active coach in the WAC and the 159th in the NCAA to tally 200 career wins. The Texans defeated Utah Tech, 61-54 in Wisdom Gym to notch the 200th career victory for coach Gillispie.
The Texans played their third nationally-televised game of the Division I era on Feb. 22 at UT Arlington. The Purple and White helped fill the College Park Center for the the ESPNU televised contest.
In his fourth year with Tarleton State, coach Gillispie was forced to step down due to medical circumstances on Nov. 19, after the first four games of the season, touting a 2-2 record. After being medically cleared on Feb. 1 coach Gillispie chose to let acting head coach Joseph Jones finish out the record-breaking season. Jones who Gillispie added to his staff during his first season with the Texans, was named WAC Coach of the Year after filling in in the 2023-24 season.
Gillispie helped orchestrate the 2023-24 squad that broke multiple records in Tarleton State's Division I era. The Texans set a new record with 25 overall wins, the 20
th 20-win season in program history. Tarleton registered 16 wins in WAC play, the highest in any conference in program history. During the regular season, the squad knocked off eventual WAC Champion, Grand Canyon, 77-74, in front of a sold out Wisdom Gym crowd. The Texans ran off a pair of win streaks that were the longest in its D1 era, with a six game streak early in the season, and a 10-game streak during WAC play. Tarleton State was one 17 NCAA Division I teams this season to register 10 road wins this season and was the only reclassifying team to accomplish the feat.
In the Texans second postseason eligible season, the unit earned its highest WAC Tournament seed finishing second in the WAC with a 16-4 record. Tarleton reached the WAC Semifinals for the first time in program history. After the WAC Tournament in Las Vegas, the Texans accepted a bid to host their first postseason tournament in Wisdom Gym in its Division I era, the College Insider.com Postseason Tournament presented by BSN SPORTS. The Texans knocked off Texas Southern in the opening round before defeating Abilene Christian for the third time this season to earn the Lou Henson Classic Championship. Tarleton reached the semifinals of the CIT presented by BSN SPORTS, its longest postseason run in its Division I era.
Individually, the Texans earned their most postseason honors since joining the WAC. Jakorie Smith became the first Texan to earn First Team All-WAC. KiAndre Gaddy was the fourth different selection as WAC Defensive Player of the Year since the award's inception in 2016. Gaddy also was named a top 25 finalist for the Lefty Driessel Award, the nation's top defensive player. He joined freshman Emmanuel Innocenti on the All-Defensive Team. Tarleton was the only school to earn two players on the five-man team this season. Innocenti also earned a nod to the WAC All-Freshman Team.
Tarleton established themselves as one of the top teams statistically in the WAC as well. At the end of the regular season, Tarleton was in the top 3 in nine statistical categories, including topping the league in four. Tarleton led the WAC in fewest turnovers per game (13.1), turnover margin (+ 3.0), steals per game (9.0) and free throw percentage (75.2%). The Purple and White were second in field goal percentage (45.3%) and Assist to Turnover ratio (1.14). Finally, the Texans were third in the WAC in assists per game (13.2), scoring margin (+ 5.1), and opponent turnovers per game (14.5). Nationally, the Texans were in the top 40 in three different categories. Tarleton had the 18
th most steals per game, 26
th highest turnover margin, and 36
th most turnovers forced per game.
In Gillispie’s third campaign with the Texans, he guided the squad to their first postseason as a member of NCAA Division I and its first WAC Tournament. Tarleton earned a bid to the College Basketball Invitational as a seventh seed for the first time in program history. In their first WAC Tournament game, the Texans took down tenth-seeded UTRGV, 74-70. Tarleton dropped the following day to second-seeded Utah Valley at the New Orleans Arena in Las Vegas. He touted a 12-2 home record, Tarleton’s best winning percentage since 2016-17 and the most wins since 2017-18. The Texans knocked off eventual NCAA Tournament team, Grand Canyon, 81-62 as part of its four games against eventual 2023 NCAA Tournament teams. In the preseason, the team traveled for its first games outside of the continental United States at St. Thomas of the U.S. Virgin Islands.
At the 2022 Paradise Jam, Gillispie’s team reached the finals after a pair of victories over Belmont and Boston College. The Texas fell by seven to Drake to finish as runner-ups in their first appearance in the invitational. Tarleton’s top opponent of the season came in December when the Texans traveled to Waco for a matchup with the 12
th ranked team in the country, Baylor. Tarleton finished its non-conference slate, 8-8 while touting a 4-0 record at Wisdom Gym. The Texans won their first five conference home games to be one of the last two teams in the WAC to be undefeated at home. Tarleton finished its conference campaign, 9-9 in part of a 17-17 overall season record. In conference play the Texans swept the home-and-home matchups with UT-Arlington and Southern Utah.
At the season’s end two of Gillispie’s players were honored by the WAC, both of which were sophomores. Freddy Hicks was named second team All-WAC and Shamir Bogues earned a selection to the WAC All-Defensive team. Bogues earned the honor in each of his first two seasons with the Texans. Additionally, Hicks was the only Texan to receive a weekly honor from the conference. Following averaging 23.5 points per game in the first two games of the Paradise Jam, he was named the WAC Player of the Week on November 21.
Once again, Gillispie’s defensive team prevailed as one of the best in the league. Tarleton led the WAC in steals (9.71) and largest positive turnover margin (+ 5.68), allowed the third fewest rebounds per game (33.29) and allowed the fourth fewest points per game (67.88).
Gillispie started his second season by emitting Tarleton in full across the national radar. The Texans began the 2021-22 campaign by playing six of their first seven games away from home in a series of high-profile matchups. Tarleton’s November slate included a trips to Allen Fieldhouse to face eventual National Champion Kansas, a showdown in Spokane with No. 1 overall seed Gonzaga and visits to Sweet 16 participant Michigan, Stanford and Wichita State. The Texans firmly held serve in each matchup and captured the imaginations of the college basketball world with near-upsets of the Wolverines and Bulldogs.
Tarleton built one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country in 2021-22. The Texans were one of only four teams to face two No. 1 seeds in the NCAA Tournament (Kansas, Gonzaga). Following the Texans’ game at Gonzaga on Nov. 29, the program ranked No. 1 in strength of schedule according to the Pomeroy College Basketball Ratings. The Texans finished the season ranked 15
th nationally and tops among all mid-major programs in the category. Additionally, Tarleton’s 2021-22 opponents combined for 11 combined NCAA Tournament victories, by far the most in the WAC.
The robust start to non-conference play carried over into December and the start of WAC play. Tarleton won seven of its next nine games following its trip to Spokane. The Texans went on to finish .500 in conference play at 9-9. The team’s conference victories came via a memorable home sweep of east Texas rivals Sam Houston and Stephen F. Austin, season sweeps of Chicago State, Lamar and UTRGV and a road win at Dixie State.
Individually, Gillispie coached Shamir Bogues to the All-WAC Defensive Team and mentored Montre Gipson to All-WAC second team recognition. Bogues became the first player in Tarleton basketball history to be selected to the All-Defensive Team and was one of five players to receive the honor. Gipson’s accolade signified the third postseason All-WAC honor of his two-year Texan career. Tarleton also cleaned up a trio of weekly WAC accolades under Gillispie’s leadership. He coached Noah McDavid to two sets of WAC Freshman of the Week credentials (Jan. 10, Jan. 29) and saw Tahj Small receive WAC Player of the Week recognition on Jan. 10 following the Texans’ home sweep of SHSU and SFA.
Gillispie’s defensive mettle was on full display once again. The Texans finished the season fifth among all D1 programs in turnover percent differential (+6.4), ninth in turnover margin (+4.1), 11th in turnovers forced (505) and 14th in turnovers forced per game (16.3). Tarleton ranked second in the WAC in all four categories.
In Gillispie’s first season with the Texans to a .500 record (10-10) in the inaugural Division I season while going 5-7 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC). The five conference wins ranked fifth in the WAC.
In an unprecedented season trying to navigate coaching during COVID-19, Gillispie and the Texans won seven of their last nine games, including three straight conference wins to end the season. Tarleton had nine games canceled due to COVID-19 on the season, including games against eventual national champion Baylor and road games at then-No. 1 Gonzaga and then-No. 1 Kansas. The nine cancelations were top 10 in the country for a program.
Tarleton’s first Division I victory came on Nov. 25 with a 103-48 victory over Dallas Christian. The first Division I and WAC victory came on Jan. 29 in a 70-62 road win at Utah Valley. Tarleton also downed three-time defending WAC champion New Mexico State, 64-55, on Feb. 27 inside Wisdom Gym and followed the victory up with a road sweep at UTRGV to close out the regular season.
Due to NCAA Division I transition rules, Tarleton does not qualify for NCAA statistical rankings. Had they been eligible, the Texans would have ranked first in the nation in steals per game (10.5), second in the nation in turnovers forced per game (19.5), and 15
th in the nation in points allowed (62.3).
Individually, Gillispie recruited and coached four all-WAC selections, including the Freshman of the Year in Freddy Hicks. Montre’ Gipson was selected to the All-WAC Newcomer Team while Gipson, Shakur Daniel and Tahj Small were named Honorable Mention All-WAC.
Gillispie became Tarleton's 15th head coach on March 30, 2020 as the Texans began their transition to NCAA Division I and joined the WAC. Gillisipie has served in the same capacity at Kentucky, Texas A&M, Texas Tech and Texas-El Paso (UTEP). The veteran head coach has 13 years of experience as a collegiate head coach with eight of the years coming at the NCAA Division I level. Gillispie has a career Division I record of 148-108 while taking three different teams to the NCAA Tournament (Kentucky, Texas A&M, UTEP). Gillispie is a two-time Big 12 Coach of the Year (2005, 2007), co-SEC Coach of the Year (2008), WAC Coach of the Year (2004), a finalist for the NABC National Coach of the Year (2004), and the National JUCO Coach of the Year (2019). He's also a three-time NTJCAC and five-time TABC Coach of the Year.
"Coach Gillispie has shown to truly be genuine in the way he cares about helping student-athletes achieve great success both on and off the court," said Dr. Hurley. "After a national search and an extensive interview process, we are confident that Coach Gillispie's experience and commitment to Tarleton and our community make him the right person to build on the storied success of Texan basketball."
"I would like to welcome Billy Gillispie to Tarleton and back to The Texas A&M System family," said Chancellor Sharp. "Coach Gillispie had tremendous success at Texas A&M and I am confident we will see that same level of success at Tarleton."
Known as an elite recruiter, Gillispie once managed to put together four straight national top-25 recruiting classes from 2005-09. He also had the sixth-ranked recruiting class at Baylor as an assistant in 1996. In Gillispie's career, he has helped recruit over 30 players that advanced to the NBA and NFL and 102 players that played professionally.
With 20 years of experience as a high school head coach in Texas and a Division I assistant, including under legendary head coach Bill Self at Tulsa and Illinois, Gillispie got his first collegiate head coaching job at UTEP from 2002-04. In just his second year leading the Miners, Gillispie lifted the team to an 18-win improvement – the best in the NCAA – and claimed the WAC regular season title, the WAC Coach of the Year award, and advanced to his first NCAA Tournament. It was UTEP's first trip to the NCAA Tournament since 1992.
After two seasons at UTEP, Gillispie was hired by Texas A&M where he once again had one of the biggest turnarounds in the country. In his first season with the Aggies, Gillispie led his new team to a 21-10 record – a 14-win increase from the season before – and advanced to the NIT Quarterfinals. The turnaround garnered his first career Big 12 Coach of the Year award. In year two (2005-06), Texas A&M finished 22-9 and fourth in the Big 12 while claiming a No. 12 seed in the first NCAA Tournament appearance for the Aggies since 1987. Gillispie picked up his first tournament win in an opening-round upset over Jim Boeheim's No. 5-seed Syracuse Orangemen.
Gillispie's best season came in 2006-07 when he won a career-high 27 games with the Aggies, finished second in the Big 12, and won his second Big 12 Coach of the Year award in three seasons. Gillispie led the Aggies into storied Allen Fieldhouse to take on the defending Big 12 Champion No. 6 Kansas Jayhawks and became the first visiting team from the Big 12 South Division to leave with a victory. Less than 48 hours later, Gillispie topped the Kevin Durant-led No. 25 Texas Longhorns for his second straight ranked victory. The Aggies finished the season ranked No. 6 by ESPN/USA Today, which was a then-Texas A&M record.
Texas A&M advanced to its second straight NCAA Tournament, this time as a No. 3 seed. The Aggies topped Penn in the opening round and followed with a second-round win over Rick Pitino's No. 6-seed Louisville Cardinals to advance to the NCAA Sweet Sixteen for the first time since 1980.
In his three seasons at Texas A&M, Gillispie coached three future NBA players, including a pair of first-round picks in Acie Law IV (11th pick) and Antoine Wright (15th pick). He also coached a future NFL second-round draft pick in dual-sport athlete Martellus Bennett.
After three seasons at Texas A&M, Gillispie was hired to lead the Kentucky Wildcats where he racked up a 40-27 record over two seasons and reached his fourth NCAA Tournament, including his third straight appearance. In his first season, Gillispie led the Wildcats to a 12-4 mark in the SEC and was named the Co-SEC Coach of the Year. Gillispie coached six future NBA draft picks, including first-round selection and current Los Angeles Clipper Patrick Patterson (14th pick).
After Kentucky, Gillispie signed on at Texas Tech but resigned after one season due to health reasons. In 2018, Gillispie underwent a successful kidney transplant.
A rejuvenated Gillispie made a triumphant return to the sidelines at his alma mater Ranger Junior College. Over the last four seasons at Ranger College, Gillipsie went 103-24 and took the Rangers to the NJCAA national title game in 2019, where he was named the JUCO National Coach of the Year.
"I cannot wait to get started," Gillispie said. "At Tarleton, we will be inheriting an ultra-successful program that Lonn and Chris Reisman established as well as countless others that have poured their hearts and souls into Texan Basketball for more than 30 years. No program has been more successful during that time. We will try our hardest every day to honor the efforts that have been made as we move into a new era of Division I basketball and make every one of the Tarleton faithful proud."
| The Billy Gillispie File |
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Hometown: |
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Graford, Texas |
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High School: |
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Graford High School |
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College: |
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Texas State ('83) |
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| Coaching History |
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Year(s) |
|
School |
Position |
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1982-85 |
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Texas State |
Assistant Coach |
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1985-87 |
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Killeen HS |
Head Coach |
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1987-88 |
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Copperas Cove HS |
Head Coach |
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1988-90 |
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Canyon HS |
Head Coach |
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1990-93 |
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Ellison HS |
Head Coach |
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1993-94 |
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South Plains JC |
Assistant Coach |
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1994-97 |
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Baylor |
Assistant Coach |
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1997-00 |
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Tulsa |
Assistant Coach |
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2000-02 |
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Illinois |
Assistant Coach |
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2002-04 |
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UTEP |
Head Coach |
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2004-07 |
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Texas A&M |
Head Coach |
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2007-09 |
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Kentucky |
Head Coach |
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2011-12 |
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Texas Tech |
Head Coach |
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2015-20 |
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Ranger JC |
Head Coach |
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2020-Present |
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Tarleton State |
Head Coach |
| Coach Award History |
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Year |
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Award |
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Five-time TABC HS Coach of the Year |
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Three-time NTJCAC Coach of the Year |
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2004 |
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WAC Coach of the Year |
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2005 |
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Big 12 Coach of the Year |
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2007 |
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Big 12 Coach of the Year |
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2008 |
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Co-SEC Coach of the Year |
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2019 |
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National JUCO Coach of the Year |
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| NCAA Head Coaching Record |
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Year |
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School |
Overall |
Conf |
Postseason |
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2002-03 |
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UTEP |
6-24 |
3-15 |
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2003-04 |
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UTEP |
24-8 |
13-5 |
WAC Champions | NCAA Tournament First Round |
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2004-05 |
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Texas A&M |
21-10 |
8-8 |
NIT Quarterfinal |
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2005-06 |
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Texas A&M |
22-9 |
10-6 |
NCAA Tournament Second Round |
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2006-07 |
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Texas A&M |
27-7 |
13-3 |
NCAA Tournament Sweet Sixteen |
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2007-08 |
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Kentucky |
18-13 |
12-4 |
NCAA Tournament First Round |
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2008-09 |
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Kentucky |
22-14 |
8-8 |
NIT Quarterfinal |
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2011-12 |
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Texas Tech |
8-23 |
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2020-21 |
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Tarleton State |
10-10 |
5-7 |
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2021-22 |
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Tarleton State |
14-17 |
9-9 |
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2022-23 |
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Tarleton State |
17-17 |
9-9 |
CBI First Round |
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2023-24 |
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Tarleton State |
2-2 |
--- |
Took leave of absence due to medical circumstances |
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2024-25 |
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Tarleton State |
12-20 |
7-9 |
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Total |
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Tarleton: 5 yrs |
55-66 |
30-34 |
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NCAA: 13 yrs |
203-174 |
98-100 |
Four NCAA Tournament Appearances |
