Jones to take over Marian men’s basketball program

FOND DU LAC – Tyler Jones has been announced as the 12th head coach of the Marian University men’s basketball program.

“We’re excited to have Tyler take over the men’s basketball program here at Marian,” said Director of Athletics Tony Draves.  “His experience and rapport with our current student-athletes made him the obvious choice for the continued success of our program.”

Jones has spent the past three seasons on the Sabre bench serving as an assistant coach.  During that time, he has helped lead Marian to 38 wins including back-to-back winning seasons the past two campaigns.  This past season, Marian went 17-11 and reached the NACC Tournament Championship game for just the third time in program history.  The Sabres have had six student-athletes earn All-NACC recognition, two being first team picks, and the NACC Freshman of the Year in Marvin Haslett this past season. Off of the court, Jones has also served as the head coach for the men’s golf program has helped turn the program in a positive direction.  Marian set a program record for team stroke average this past season at 78.7 and he was named NACC Co-Coach of the Year.  He also helped guide sophomore Wyatt Pfeiffer to an All-NACC award, the first for Marian since the 2020-21 season.

Prior to becoming a Sabre, Jones spent five seasons at a fellow NACC institution in Aurora.  The Spartans would have three winning seasons during his tenure including a 2019 NACC Tournament Championship.  He also stepped in to serve as the interim head coach for the program late in 2022 season.  Outside of his basketball responsibilities, Jones spent time with the men’s and women’s golf programs at Aurora and played a role in community affairs.

Jones brings a wealth of basketball coaching knowledge ranging across all levels of basketball.  He broke onto the coaching scene during the 1998-99 season when he led the Connecticut Pride, of the Continental Basketball Association (CBA), to a league championship.  Jones served as a head coach and the general manager during his time with the Pride accumulating over 100 wins in his career.  He also earned CBA Coach of the Year honors following the 1998-99 championship. 

Jones has coached several former NBA players including former head coach for the University of Connecticut men’s basketball program Kevin Ollie, current New York Knicks assistant coach Rick Brunson, father of Jalen Brunson, and former head coach of the Milwaukee Bucks Adrian Griffin.

Jones earned a bachelor’s degree in intercultural studies from Trinity and a master’s in business administration from Concordia Chicago.

Tyler Jones discussed his background and experience with Nick Van Nocker from KFIZ Sports.