Men's Basketball
Jerome Tang
- Title:
- Associate Head Coach
- Email:
- Jerome_Tang@Baylor.edu
- Phone:
- 3096
Jerome Tang, who spent 19 seasons on the Baylor bench before departing for the Kansas State head coaching position in 2022, is returning to Waco in his previous role as an associate head coach for the 2026-27 season.
Tang, who was selected as the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year after guiding the Wildcats to a 26-win season and its 13th trip to the Elite Eight in his inaugural season, served as the 25th head men's basketball head coach at Kansas State from 2022-26.
Tang re-energized a K-State program which had endured three consecutive losing seasons before his arrival in 2022-23. In his four seasons, he led the Wildcats to a 71-57 (.555) overall record, including 29 wins in Big 12 play, with consecutive postseason appearances (2023 NCAA Tournament, 2024 NIT) highlighted by the run to the Elite Eight. He is one of just four head coaches in school history to help the Wildcats to the postseason in their first two seasons.
Among his 71 wins at K-State were 16 against teams ranked in the Top 25, including seven Top 10 opponents. The 16 career Top 25 wins tie for the fourth-most in school history, while the seven against Top 10 competition also ranks fourth all-time. Thirteen of the 16 ranked wins have come in the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum, where Tang was 47-16 (.746) overall, including 22-12 (.647) in Big 12 play and 13-7 (.650) against ranked foes. The 13-career home Top 25 wins are the second-most in school history.
In addition to the wins over ranked teams, Tang’s teams have also proved to be clutch in his tenure, posting a 12-1 mark in overtime games, including an NCAA single season record seven such wins in 2023-24. The team’s 12-game overtime winning streak between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons is the second-longest such streak in Division I history since 1950 and the second-longest behind Florida State’s 14-game streak (2018-2024). Including his time as interim head coach at Baylor, Tang is now 13-1 in overtime games.
Tang helped reestablish the “Octagon of Doom” as one of the toughest places to play in college basketball, as the Wildcats played before 11 sellouts while posting a 47-16 record at home with 13 wins over Top 25 opponents, including a pair of top 5 wins over archrival Kansas, two over top 10 Baylor and No. 6/6 Iowa State. The 15 home wins in 2022-23 were the most in nearly a decade (2014-15) and tied for the second-most in the arena’s 35-year history. The eight sellouts in 2022-23 were the most since 2014-15, while the team ranked 23rd nationally in percentage capacity at 87.57 percent in the 11,010-seat arena.
Tang was dismissed on Feb. 15, 2026 with seven games remaining in the 2025-26 season after posting a 10-15 overall record, including a 1-11 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats started the season at 5-0 before winning just five of their next 20 games.
During a roller coaster 2024-25 season that included a six-game losing streak followed by a six-game winning streak in Big 12 play, K-State could not overcome a disappointing non-conference season, as the Wildcats finished with a 16-17 overall record, including a tie for ninth place with TCU in the new-look 16-team Big 12 with a 9-11 mark. Among the 16 wins were 10 over teams that advanced to the postseason (3 NCAA Tournament, 1 NIT and 6 College Basketball Crown), including ranked wins over No. 3/3 Iowa State, No. 13/13 Arizona, No. 16/17 Cincinnati, No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 23/23 West Virginia.
K-State won six of its first eight games before losing its last three non-conference games (at St. John’s, Drake and Wichita State) to enter Big 12 play with a 6-5 record. After rallying for a 70-67 win over No. 16/17 Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener, the Wildcats lost their next 6 league games (at TCU, at Oklahoma State, No. 12/11 Houston, Texas Tech, at No. 9/10 Kansas and at Baylor). After an impressive win over No. 23/23 West Virginia, the team rattled off 5 more victories, including an 80-61 win at No. 3/3 Iowa State and back-to-back home wins over No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 13/13 Arizona. However, the Wildcats couldn’t keep the momentum going with 4 straight losses (at BYU and Utah, Arizona State and at UCF). The team managed to win 3 of their last 4 games before falling to Baylor in the second round of the Big 12 Championship.
Seniors Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan were both lauded for their outstanding seasons, as Hawkins was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team while N’Guessan was selected to the Honorable Mention team. Hawkins was the only Division I player in the country to average at least 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He ranked in the Big 12’s top 10 in 6 categories, including sixth in steals (1.8 spg.) and minutes (33.6 mpg.), seventh in assists (4.3 apg.), eighth in blocks (1.3 bpg.) and 10th in rebounding (6.9 rpg.). The Wildcats’ leading scorer (13.3 ppg.) and rebounder (7.2 rpg.), N’Guessan led the Big 12 with a 64.4 field goal percentage while ranking in the league’s top 20 in both scoring and rebounding. He led the Wildcats in double-digit scoring games (26), 20-point games (6) and double-doubles (7).
Despite losing a pair of All-Americans in Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell as well as a third starter in Nae’Qwan Tomlin right before the season, Tang kept the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament conversation until the very end of the 2023-24 season before receiving a bid to the NIT, where they lost in the first round at Iowa. The team posted a 19-15 overall record, which included a tie for ninth with Oklahoma in the new 14-team Big 12 with an 8-10 mark. Among the 19 wins were 10 over teams that advanced to the postseason (6 NCAA Tournament and 4 NIT teams), including No. 9/9 Baylor, No. 4/4 Kansas, No. 25/21 BYU and No. 6/6 Iowa State.
The victories over the Bears and Jayhawks both came in overtime, as the Wildcats set a new Division single-season record with 7 overtime wins, breaking the mark of 6 set by Wake Forest (1983-84), Chattanooga (1988-89) and Lafayette (2007-08). The 7 overtime wins also broke the school record of 5, set in 1992-93 and 2022-23, while it is the most overtime games in school history (5 total set in 1992-93 and 2022-23). The 6 overtime home wins are also a Division I record, surpassing the 5 by Cincinnati in 1966-67.
K-State enjoyed a fast start to the 2023-24 season, winning 14 of its first 18 games, including 4 of 5 in Big 12 play, highlighted by 5 overtime victories – Providence, Oral Roberts, North Alabama, Villanova and No. 9/9 Baylor. Three of those 5 overtime wins came in a row at home in a feat not accomplished in nearly 60 years (1964). However, a 1-7 slide over a 4-week span in late January to mid-February derailed the promising start with 5 of those 7 losses coming to teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats did win 4 of their last 6 games, including at home over No. 25/21 BYU and No. 6/6 Iowa State and over Texas at the Big 12 Championship.
Newcomers Arthur Kaluma and Tylor Perry were both All-Big 12 honorable mention selections to cap the season, as Kaluma was one of four Big 12 players to rank in the top-15 in both scoring and rebounding in 2023-24 while Perry was among the league’s top scorers, ranking eighth in the league at 15.3 points per game. Perry led the Big 12 in minutes (36.41) and was second in 3-point field goals (2.74) and free throw percentage (90.9).
The success in year two came on the heels of a historic inaugural campaign in 2022-23, in which, Tang guided K-State to its third-highest win total (26) and a thrilling run to the Elite Eight despite returning just two players and being picked to finish last in the preseason Big 12 poll. The Wildcats posted a 26-10 overall record, which included a tie for third place in the nation’s most difficult conference – the Big 12 – with an 11-7 mark and the school’s 13th appearance in the Elite Eight and the first since 2017-18.
The 26 wins are the third-most in school history, trailing the school-record 29 in 2009-10 and the 27 in 2012-13, and just the eighth 25-win campaign. His 26 wins are the second-most by a first-year head coach in school history.
Tang became the 11th first-year head coach to direct his team to the Elite Eight since 1996-97, while joining North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge (K-State alum) in 1997-98 and Hubert Davis in 2021-22 and Kent State’s Stan Heath in 2001-02 as one of four first-time head coaches to accomplish the feat. Tang's win total was the second-most by a first-year Division I head coach.
In guiding K-State to the Elite Eight in his first season, Tang became just the third coach in the program's history to be selected National Coach of the Year, joining Fred "Tex" Winter (UPI) in 1958 and Jack Hartman (NABC) in 1980. He was a candidate for nearly every other National Coach of the Year honor in 2022-23, including finishing as the runner-up for The Associated Press award. In addition, he was the consensus Big 12 Coach of the Year, earning the honor from both the league coaches and the AP.
During the team’s historic season, Tang coached a pair of All-Americans in 2023 Bob Cousy Award winner Markquis Nowell and small forward Keyontae Johnson, who became the first duo in school history to each earn the recognition from The Associated Press when they were selected to the Third Team. Both players were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Johnson was the league's Newcomer of the Year.
Nowell was selected as the Cousy Award winner as the nation's top point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame after he finished second nationally in assists/game (8.3 apg.), total assists (297) and total steals (92) while ranking in the top-15 in four others. He was chosen the NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player after guiding the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, averaging 23.5 points, 13.5 assists and 4.0 steals in his 4-game NCAA Tournament run, which included a tournament and school-record 19-assist performance in the win over Michigan State. He was also named a Third Team All-American by The Sporting News, NABC and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Johnson was a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward Award by the Naismith Hall of Fame, along with Alabama’s Brandon Miller, Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther, Kansas’ Jalen Wilson and UCLA’s Jamie Jaquez Jr.
Following the season, Johnson became the first Wildcat under Tang and the first since 2017 to be selected in the NBA Draft, as he was taken in the second round with the 50th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is the 13th draft pick developed by Tang, which includes 11 at Baylor and one at Heritage Christian Academy (Von Wafer). In addition, Nowell signed a 2-way contract with the Toronto Raptors on draft night.
The 2022-23 Wildcats set three school single-season records, including shattering the mark for assists (611), while finishing No. 2 in points (2,742), field goals made (961), 3-point field goals made (258), free throw percentage (74.8) and steals (289) in school history. The 46.1 field goal percentage tied for the seventh-best in the shot clock era and the best since 2017-18. Nowell crushed the single-season marks for assists (297) and steals (92) while he and Johnson became just the second duo in school history to each tally 600 or more points in a single season.
PRIOR TO K-STATE
Tang came to Baylor as a member of Drew’s first staff in 2003, following 10 seasons as head coach at nationally recognized Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas. He was integral in the Bears’ rise to national prominence, serving his first 14 seasons on staff as assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach for the final five seasons.
The rebuild he started with Drew reached its completion in 2021, as they led Baylor to its first National Championship, defeating No. 1-ranked Gonzaga 86-70 in the national title game. The 2021 Bears also won their first Big 12 championship in the league’s 25-year history, which was the school’s first conference title in 71 years, and they followed that up by guiding an injury-depleted roster to a second-straight Big 12 title in 2022.
Tang went a perfect 4-0 as interim head coach, winning the first two games of the 2012-13 Big 12 schedule at home against Texas and on the road at Texas Tech and the first two games of the 2020-21 national title season in Las Vegas against Louisiana-Lafayette and Washington.
Tang helped lead the Bears to a streak of 15-consecutive seasons with 18+ wins, posting a 361-153 record, including a 27-11 postseason mark and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Baylor has also appeared in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 five times from 2010 through 2021, three times advancing to the Elite Eight. Additionally, 13 players from those seasons went on to play in the NBA, including Quincy Acy, Jared Butler, Freddie Gillespie, Pierre Jackson, Cory Jefferson, Perry Jones III, Quincy Miller, Davion Mitchell, Johnathan Motley, Royce O’Neale, Taurean Prince, Ekpe Udoh and Ishmail Wainright, with additional members of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Bears squads likely to join that list.
As an original member of Scott Drew’s Baylor staff, Tang has helped put together eight consensus top-25 recruiting classes, including 2010 (Jones III), 2011 (Miller and Deuce Bello), 2012 (Isaiah Austin, Prince and Rico Gathers), 2013 (Wainright, Al Freeman and Motley) and the highest-ranked class in program history at No. 4 in 2021 (Kendall Brown, Langston Love and Jeremy Sochan).
The best two-year run in program history culminated with a National Championship in 2021. The Bears combined to go 54-6 over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, winning 90 percent of their games and posting an .850 winning percentage with a 17-3 record against ranked opponents. The Bears were top-5 ranked for 29-consecutive AP Top 25 polls and finished the 2020-21 season with the nation’s third-longest active streak of 37-straight weeks ranked.
Baylor recorded a 28-2 mark in 2020-21, including 14-1 in Big Conference play, and the Bears posted a school-record 11 wins against ranked opponents, including a perfect 7-0 mark against top-10 opponents. Baylor had the best start in program history with an 18-game winning streak to begin the season, which was the fourth-longest winning streak by any team in Big 12 Conference history. Another school record was set with three All-Americans, as Jared Butler became the first consensus first-team All-American in program history, Davion Mitchell picked up All-America third-team honors on his way to sweeping National Defensive Player of the Year honors and MaCio Teague earned All-America third team recognition.
Tang assisted Baylor to what was then the best season in program history in 2019-20, posting a 26-4 record and spending five consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 nationally, which was the longest streak by any team since Kentucky in 2015. The Bears set a Big 12 Conference record with a 23-game winning streak and were projected to earn an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed before the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All five of Baylor’s starters were named All-Big 12, the first time any team had done so in conference history.
Baylor extended its school-record streak to eight consecutive postseason appearances and finished 20-14 in 2018-19. The Bears went from being picked ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll to finishing fourth in the league despite losing four projected starters to injuries throughout the year. BU was two games into Big 12 play when leading scorer Tristan Clark went down with a season-ending injury. After switching to a three-guard lineup, BU went on a six-game winning streak and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where the Bears knocked off Syracuse in the first round before falling against No. 1 seed Gonzaga.
Baylor finished with a 19-15 mark and advanced to the NIT second round in 2017-18. BU was ranked as high as No. 16 nationally, extending a streak to 11 consecutive seasons ranked, which was the ninth-longest streak nationally at the time. After a slew of injuries led to a 2-7 start to conference play, Baylor rebounded with a five-game winning streak that included wins over No. 10 Kansas and No. 7 Texas Tech and a double-overtime win at Texas.
The program reached new heights in 2016-17, earning Baylor’s first No. 1 national ranking and a school-record fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. BU rolled to a 15-0 start, climbing from unranked to No. 1 nationally in an eight-week span. Baylor recorded wins over top-10 opponents three times in its first eight games, with victories over No. 4 Oregon, No. 7 Xavier and No. 10 Louisville, the last of which secured the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis title. BU also defeated No. 10 West Virginia for a school-record fourth top-10 win.
The Bears tied a school record with 12 wins in Big 12 play, leading to a program-best No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournmaent. BU knocked off New Mexico State and USC to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in a six-year span. It was the Bears’ ninth 20-win season in the last 10 years, accounting for nine of the 12, 20-win seasons in program history. The Bears finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 12 nationally and had four players earn All-Big 12 honors with Motley, Manu Lecomte, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Ishmail Wainright recognized. Motley won the 2017 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award and was named Baylor’s first consensus All-American.
Baylor’s 2015-16 squad finished 22-12, and the Bears earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, marking a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. BU finished the season ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, the fourth-highest final ranking in program history, and Baylor was one of 13 teams to remain ranked in the coaches’ poll throughout the entire season, climbing as high as No. 13 nationally.
The 2015-16 Bears also had four players earn All-Big 12 recognition, led by future NBA lottery pick Prince. Motley, Gathers and Lester Medford also earned all-conference honors.
The 2014-15 Baylor team went 24-10 and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, tying the best seed in program history and earning the program’s first-ever back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bears knocked off a school-record seven top-25 ranked opponents. Additionally, three players earned All-Big 12 honors (Kenny Chery, Gathers, Prince), and Gathers was named an All-American.
In 2013-14, Tang helped guide Baylor to a late-season surge that led to 26 wins, including three victories in three days to reach the 2014 Big 12 Championship title game. BU then won a pair of NCAA Tournament games to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time a five-year stretch, becoming one of only 12 programs nationally to accomplish the feat between 2010 and 2014.
Following the 2013-14 season, Jefferson was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Draft, giving Baylor five players drafted in the three-year span from 2012-14. Fellow Bear Isaiah Austin was also honored at the draft, after the projected first-round pick had his career halted by a Marfan’s Syndrome Diagnosis.
Tang played a major role in leading Baylor to 23 wins and the program’s first national tournament championship in 2012-13, when the Bears went on a five-game run to the NIT title. For the first time in school history, every game during the 2012-13 season was televised, including a nation-leading 28 games on ESPN networks.
In addition to his assistant coaching duties, he served as interim head coach in Baylor’s first two Big 12 games of the 2012-13 season, leading BU to an overtime win against Texas and a 34-point win at Texas Tech -- the Bears’ largest-ever margin of victory in Lubbock. After the season, Jackson was selected in the 2013 NBA Draft, giving BU four draft picks in 2012-13, which ranked third nationally.
Baylor made history once again during the 2011-12 season, winning a school-record 30 games and advancing to the NCAA Tournament South Region Final for the second time in three seasons. The Bears were ranked throughout the season for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 3 in the polls and never dropping lower than 14th. Following the record-breaking season, the Bears had a program-record three players selected in the 2012 NBA Draft (Jones III, Acy, Miller).
During the 2009-10 season, the Bears won a then-school-record 28 games and tied for second in the Big 12 Conference standings with an 11-5 record. The Bears, who earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA South Region, won their first NCAA Tournament game in 60 years, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in the modern tournament era. Baylor finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 10 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll and No. 19 in the final AP Top 25 poll.
The Bears became a national media staple during the 2008-09 season as the program set several new school records. Baylor posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history, while advancing to its first Big 12 Championship title game, only to fall to Missouri. During its improbable postseason run, Baylor became the first No. 9 seed to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game.
Baylor’s 2008-09 squad did something the 2007-08 Bears were unable to accomplish -- win a postseason game. The Bears advanced to the NIT championship game with a semifinal win over San Diego State at Madison Square Garden before falling to Penn State in the title game.
The Bears rose to national prominence in 2007-08, making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in 68 years (1950) and their first since 1988. BU finished with a 21-11 overall record after a first-round loss to No. 18 Purdue, marking the fourth 20-win season in program history.
PRIOR TO BAYLOR
In his decade of service at Heritage Christian, Tang led the program to four state championships and built the Eagles into one of the state’s TAPPS powerhouses. His squad gained national attention in 2001, when one of Tang’s Eagles, junior Cedrick Hensley, scored 101 points in a game.
Feeding off that success, Tang and Heritage Christian became known for producing Division I athletes. Heritage Christian’s most-publicized recruit during Tang’s tenure was Vakeaton “Von” Wafer, a 2003 McDonald’s All-American who played at Florida State and was drafted with the 39th pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2005 NBA draft.
Tang’s last two squads at HCA featured other Division I signees in Hensley (Houston), Elijah Miller (Houston), Marlon Pompey (Texas A&M), Lamar Hurd (Oregon State), Tim Mayes (Richmond) and Tyler Jones (St. John’s).
Tang was also the athletic director at Heritage Christian, a birth-through-high school private school that boasted 145 students and just 30 high school students (10th-12th grades). Away from the gym, Tang served as youth pastor at First Assembly of God.
PERSONAL
Tang was born in San Fernando, Trinidad. He migrated with his parents (Paul & Bano Tang) to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands until age 10 when his family moved to Texas. He and his wife, Careylyen (Rey) have a son, Seven, and a daughter, Aylyn. He also has adopted sons (Lamar & Richard Hurd). His in-laws are Calvin & Carolyn Carter.
Tang earned a bachelor’s degree from Charter Oak State College in 2007.
Tang, who was selected as the 2023 Werner Ladder Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year after guiding the Wildcats to a 26-win season and its 13th trip to the Elite Eight in his inaugural season, served as the 25th head men's basketball head coach at Kansas State from 2022-26.
Tang re-energized a K-State program which had endured three consecutive losing seasons before his arrival in 2022-23. In his four seasons, he led the Wildcats to a 71-57 (.555) overall record, including 29 wins in Big 12 play, with consecutive postseason appearances (2023 NCAA Tournament, 2024 NIT) highlighted by the run to the Elite Eight. He is one of just four head coaches in school history to help the Wildcats to the postseason in their first two seasons.
Among his 71 wins at K-State were 16 against teams ranked in the Top 25, including seven Top 10 opponents. The 16 career Top 25 wins tie for the fourth-most in school history, while the seven against Top 10 competition also ranks fourth all-time. Thirteen of the 16 ranked wins have come in the friendly confines of Bramlage Coliseum, where Tang was 47-16 (.746) overall, including 22-12 (.647) in Big 12 play and 13-7 (.650) against ranked foes. The 13-career home Top 25 wins are the second-most in school history.
In addition to the wins over ranked teams, Tang’s teams have also proved to be clutch in his tenure, posting a 12-1 mark in overtime games, including an NCAA single season record seven such wins in 2023-24. The team’s 12-game overtime winning streak between the 2022-23 and 2023-24 seasons is the second-longest such streak in Division I history since 1950 and the second-longest behind Florida State’s 14-game streak (2018-2024). Including his time as interim head coach at Baylor, Tang is now 13-1 in overtime games.
Tang helped reestablish the “Octagon of Doom” as one of the toughest places to play in college basketball, as the Wildcats played before 11 sellouts while posting a 47-16 record at home with 13 wins over Top 25 opponents, including a pair of top 5 wins over archrival Kansas, two over top 10 Baylor and No. 6/6 Iowa State. The 15 home wins in 2022-23 were the most in nearly a decade (2014-15) and tied for the second-most in the arena’s 35-year history. The eight sellouts in 2022-23 were the most since 2014-15, while the team ranked 23rd nationally in percentage capacity at 87.57 percent in the 11,010-seat arena.
Tang was dismissed on Feb. 15, 2026 with seven games remaining in the 2025-26 season after posting a 10-15 overall record, including a 1-11 mark in Big 12 play. The Wildcats started the season at 5-0 before winning just five of their next 20 games.
During a roller coaster 2024-25 season that included a six-game losing streak followed by a six-game winning streak in Big 12 play, K-State could not overcome a disappointing non-conference season, as the Wildcats finished with a 16-17 overall record, including a tie for ninth place with TCU in the new-look 16-team Big 12 with a 9-11 mark. Among the 16 wins were 10 over teams that advanced to the postseason (3 NCAA Tournament, 1 NIT and 6 College Basketball Crown), including ranked wins over No. 3/3 Iowa State, No. 13/13 Arizona, No. 16/17 Cincinnati, No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 23/23 West Virginia.
K-State won six of its first eight games before losing its last three non-conference games (at St. John’s, Drake and Wichita State) to enter Big 12 play with a 6-5 record. After rallying for a 70-67 win over No. 16/17 Cincinnati in the Big 12 opener, the Wildcats lost their next 6 league games (at TCU, at Oklahoma State, No. 12/11 Houston, Texas Tech, at No. 9/10 Kansas and at Baylor). After an impressive win over No. 23/23 West Virginia, the team rattled off 5 more victories, including an 80-61 win at No. 3/3 Iowa State and back-to-back home wins over No. 16/17 Kansas and No. 13/13 Arizona. However, the Wildcats couldn’t keep the momentum going with 4 straight losses (at BYU and Utah, Arizona State and at UCF). The team managed to win 3 of their last 4 games before falling to Baylor in the second round of the Big 12 Championship.
Seniors Coleman Hawkins and David N’Guessan were both lauded for their outstanding seasons, as Hawkins was named to the All-Big 12 Third Team while N’Guessan was selected to the Honorable Mention team. Hawkins was the only Division I player in the country to average at least 10 points, 6.5 rebounds, 4 assists, 1.5 steals and 1.0 blocks per game. He ranked in the Big 12’s top 10 in 6 categories, including sixth in steals (1.8 spg.) and minutes (33.6 mpg.), seventh in assists (4.3 apg.), eighth in blocks (1.3 bpg.) and 10th in rebounding (6.9 rpg.). The Wildcats’ leading scorer (13.3 ppg.) and rebounder (7.2 rpg.), N’Guessan led the Big 12 with a 64.4 field goal percentage while ranking in the league’s top 20 in both scoring and rebounding. He led the Wildcats in double-digit scoring games (26), 20-point games (6) and double-doubles (7).
Despite losing a pair of All-Americans in Keyontae Johnson and Markquis Nowell as well as a third starter in Nae’Qwan Tomlin right before the season, Tang kept the Wildcats in the NCAA Tournament conversation until the very end of the 2023-24 season before receiving a bid to the NIT, where they lost in the first round at Iowa. The team posted a 19-15 overall record, which included a tie for ninth with Oklahoma in the new 14-team Big 12 with an 8-10 mark. Among the 19 wins were 10 over teams that advanced to the postseason (6 NCAA Tournament and 4 NIT teams), including No. 9/9 Baylor, No. 4/4 Kansas, No. 25/21 BYU and No. 6/6 Iowa State.
The victories over the Bears and Jayhawks both came in overtime, as the Wildcats set a new Division single-season record with 7 overtime wins, breaking the mark of 6 set by Wake Forest (1983-84), Chattanooga (1988-89) and Lafayette (2007-08). The 7 overtime wins also broke the school record of 5, set in 1992-93 and 2022-23, while it is the most overtime games in school history (5 total set in 1992-93 and 2022-23). The 6 overtime home wins are also a Division I record, surpassing the 5 by Cincinnati in 1966-67.
K-State enjoyed a fast start to the 2023-24 season, winning 14 of its first 18 games, including 4 of 5 in Big 12 play, highlighted by 5 overtime victories – Providence, Oral Roberts, North Alabama, Villanova and No. 9/9 Baylor. Three of those 5 overtime wins came in a row at home in a feat not accomplished in nearly 60 years (1964). However, a 1-7 slide over a 4-week span in late January to mid-February derailed the promising start with 5 of those 7 losses coming to teams that advanced to the NCAA Tournament. The Wildcats did win 4 of their last 6 games, including at home over No. 25/21 BYU and No. 6/6 Iowa State and over Texas at the Big 12 Championship.
Newcomers Arthur Kaluma and Tylor Perry were both All-Big 12 honorable mention selections to cap the season, as Kaluma was one of four Big 12 players to rank in the top-15 in both scoring and rebounding in 2023-24 while Perry was among the league’s top scorers, ranking eighth in the league at 15.3 points per game. Perry led the Big 12 in minutes (36.41) and was second in 3-point field goals (2.74) and free throw percentage (90.9).
The success in year two came on the heels of a historic inaugural campaign in 2022-23, in which, Tang guided K-State to its third-highest win total (26) and a thrilling run to the Elite Eight despite returning just two players and being picked to finish last in the preseason Big 12 poll. The Wildcats posted a 26-10 overall record, which included a tie for third place in the nation’s most difficult conference – the Big 12 – with an 11-7 mark and the school’s 13th appearance in the Elite Eight and the first since 2017-18.
The 26 wins are the third-most in school history, trailing the school-record 29 in 2009-10 and the 27 in 2012-13, and just the eighth 25-win campaign. His 26 wins are the second-most by a first-year head coach in school history.
Tang became the 11th first-year head coach to direct his team to the Elite Eight since 1996-97, while joining North Carolina’s Bill Guthridge (K-State alum) in 1997-98 and Hubert Davis in 2021-22 and Kent State’s Stan Heath in 2001-02 as one of four first-time head coaches to accomplish the feat. Tang's win total was the second-most by a first-year Division I head coach.
In guiding K-State to the Elite Eight in his first season, Tang became just the third coach in the program's history to be selected National Coach of the Year, joining Fred "Tex" Winter (UPI) in 1958 and Jack Hartman (NABC) in 1980. He was a candidate for nearly every other National Coach of the Year honor in 2022-23, including finishing as the runner-up for The Associated Press award. In addition, he was the consensus Big 12 Coach of the Year, earning the honor from both the league coaches and the AP.
During the team’s historic season, Tang coached a pair of All-Americans in 2023 Bob Cousy Award winner Markquis Nowell and small forward Keyontae Johnson, who became the first duo in school history to each earn the recognition from The Associated Press when they were selected to the Third Team. Both players were named to the All-Big 12 First Team, while Johnson was the league's Newcomer of the Year.
Nowell was selected as the Cousy Award winner as the nation's top point guard by the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame after he finished second nationally in assists/game (8.3 apg.), total assists (297) and total steals (92) while ranking in the top-15 in four others. He was chosen the NCAA East Regional Most Outstanding Player after guiding the Wildcats to the Elite Eight, averaging 23.5 points, 13.5 assists and 4.0 steals in his 4-game NCAA Tournament run, which included a tournament and school-record 19-assist performance in the win over Michigan State. He was also named a Third Team All-American by The Sporting News, NABC and U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Johnson was a finalist for the Julius Erving Small Forward Award by the Naismith Hall of Fame, along with Alabama’s Brandon Miller, Gonzaga’s Julian Strawther, Kansas’ Jalen Wilson and UCLA’s Jamie Jaquez Jr.
Following the season, Johnson became the first Wildcat under Tang and the first since 2017 to be selected in the NBA Draft, as he was taken in the second round with the 50th pick by the Oklahoma City Thunder. He is the 13th draft pick developed by Tang, which includes 11 at Baylor and one at Heritage Christian Academy (Von Wafer). In addition, Nowell signed a 2-way contract with the Toronto Raptors on draft night.
The 2022-23 Wildcats set three school single-season records, including shattering the mark for assists (611), while finishing No. 2 in points (2,742), field goals made (961), 3-point field goals made (258), free throw percentage (74.8) and steals (289) in school history. The 46.1 field goal percentage tied for the seventh-best in the shot clock era and the best since 2017-18. Nowell crushed the single-season marks for assists (297) and steals (92) while he and Johnson became just the second duo in school history to each tally 600 or more points in a single season.
PRIOR TO K-STATE
Tang came to Baylor as a member of Drew’s first staff in 2003, following 10 seasons as head coach at nationally recognized Heritage Christian Academy in Cleveland, Texas. He was integral in the Bears’ rise to national prominence, serving his first 14 seasons on staff as assistant coach before being promoted to associate head coach for the final five seasons.
The rebuild he started with Drew reached its completion in 2021, as they led Baylor to its first National Championship, defeating No. 1-ranked Gonzaga 86-70 in the national title game. The 2021 Bears also won their first Big 12 championship in the league’s 25-year history, which was the school’s first conference title in 71 years, and they followed that up by guiding an injury-depleted roster to a second-straight Big 12 title in 2022.
Tang went a perfect 4-0 as interim head coach, winning the first two games of the 2012-13 Big 12 schedule at home against Texas and on the road at Texas Tech and the first two games of the 2020-21 national title season in Las Vegas against Louisiana-Lafayette and Washington.
Tang helped lead the Bears to a streak of 15-consecutive seasons with 18+ wins, posting a 361-153 record, including a 27-11 postseason mark and 10 NCAA Tournament appearances. Baylor has also appeared in the NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 five times from 2010 through 2021, three times advancing to the Elite Eight. Additionally, 13 players from those seasons went on to play in the NBA, including Quincy Acy, Jared Butler, Freddie Gillespie, Pierre Jackson, Cory Jefferson, Perry Jones III, Quincy Miller, Davion Mitchell, Johnathan Motley, Royce O’Neale, Taurean Prince, Ekpe Udoh and Ishmail Wainright, with additional members of the 2020-21 and 2021-22 Bears squads likely to join that list.
As an original member of Scott Drew’s Baylor staff, Tang has helped put together eight consensus top-25 recruiting classes, including 2010 (Jones III), 2011 (Miller and Deuce Bello), 2012 (Isaiah Austin, Prince and Rico Gathers), 2013 (Wainright, Al Freeman and Motley) and the highest-ranked class in program history at No. 4 in 2021 (Kendall Brown, Langston Love and Jeremy Sochan).
The best two-year run in program history culminated with a National Championship in 2021. The Bears combined to go 54-6 over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, winning 90 percent of their games and posting an .850 winning percentage with a 17-3 record against ranked opponents. The Bears were top-5 ranked for 29-consecutive AP Top 25 polls and finished the 2020-21 season with the nation’s third-longest active streak of 37-straight weeks ranked.
Baylor recorded a 28-2 mark in 2020-21, including 14-1 in Big Conference play, and the Bears posted a school-record 11 wins against ranked opponents, including a perfect 7-0 mark against top-10 opponents. Baylor had the best start in program history with an 18-game winning streak to begin the season, which was the fourth-longest winning streak by any team in Big 12 Conference history. Another school record was set with three All-Americans, as Jared Butler became the first consensus first-team All-American in program history, Davion Mitchell picked up All-America third-team honors on his way to sweeping National Defensive Player of the Year honors and MaCio Teague earned All-America third team recognition.
Tang assisted Baylor to what was then the best season in program history in 2019-20, posting a 26-4 record and spending five consecutive weeks ranked No. 1 nationally, which was the longest streak by any team since Kentucky in 2015. The Bears set a Big 12 Conference record with a 23-game winning streak and were projected to earn an NCAA Tournament No. 1 seed before the postseason was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. All five of Baylor’s starters were named All-Big 12, the first time any team had done so in conference history.
Baylor extended its school-record streak to eight consecutive postseason appearances and finished 20-14 in 2018-19. The Bears went from being picked ninth in the Big 12 preseason poll to finishing fourth in the league despite losing four projected starters to injuries throughout the year. BU was two games into Big 12 play when leading scorer Tristan Clark went down with a season-ending injury. After switching to a three-guard lineup, BU went on a six-game winning streak and earned a No. 9 seed in the NCAA Tournament, where the Bears knocked off Syracuse in the first round before falling against No. 1 seed Gonzaga.
Baylor finished with a 19-15 mark and advanced to the NIT second round in 2017-18. BU was ranked as high as No. 16 nationally, extending a streak to 11 consecutive seasons ranked, which was the ninth-longest streak nationally at the time. After a slew of injuries led to a 2-7 start to conference play, Baylor rebounded with a five-game winning streak that included wins over No. 10 Kansas and No. 7 Texas Tech and a double-overtime win at Texas.
The program reached new heights in 2016-17, earning Baylor’s first No. 1 national ranking and a school-record fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance. BU rolled to a 15-0 start, climbing from unranked to No. 1 nationally in an eight-week span. Baylor recorded wins over top-10 opponents three times in its first eight games, with victories over No. 4 Oregon, No. 7 Xavier and No. 10 Louisville, the last of which secured the 2016 Battle 4 Atlantis title. BU also defeated No. 10 West Virginia for a school-record fourth top-10 win.
The Bears tied a school record with 12 wins in Big 12 play, leading to a program-best No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournmaent. BU knocked off New Mexico State and USC to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time in a six-year span. It was the Bears’ ninth 20-win season in the last 10 years, accounting for nine of the 12, 20-win seasons in program history. The Bears finished the 2016-17 season ranked No. 12 nationally and had four players earn All-Big 12 honors with Motley, Manu Lecomte, Jo Lual-Acuil Jr. and Ishmail Wainright recognized. Motley won the 2017 Karl Malone Power Forward of the Year Award and was named Baylor’s first consensus All-American.
Baylor’s 2015-16 squad finished 22-12, and the Bears earned a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament, marking a third consecutive NCAA Tournament berth. BU finished the season ranked No. 21 in the AP poll, the fourth-highest final ranking in program history, and Baylor was one of 13 teams to remain ranked in the coaches’ poll throughout the entire season, climbing as high as No. 13 nationally.
The 2015-16 Bears also had four players earn All-Big 12 recognition, led by future NBA lottery pick Prince. Motley, Gathers and Lester Medford also earned all-conference honors.
The 2014-15 Baylor team went 24-10 and earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA Tournament, tying the best seed in program history and earning the program’s first-ever back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances. The Bears knocked off a school-record seven top-25 ranked opponents. Additionally, three players earned All-Big 12 honors (Kenny Chery, Gathers, Prince), and Gathers was named an All-American.
In 2013-14, Tang helped guide Baylor to a late-season surge that led to 26 wins, including three victories in three days to reach the 2014 Big 12 Championship title game. BU then won a pair of NCAA Tournament games to advance to the Sweet 16 for the third time a five-year stretch, becoming one of only 12 programs nationally to accomplish the feat between 2010 and 2014.
Following the 2013-14 season, Jefferson was selected by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2014 NBA Draft, giving Baylor five players drafted in the three-year span from 2012-14. Fellow Bear Isaiah Austin was also honored at the draft, after the projected first-round pick had his career halted by a Marfan’s Syndrome Diagnosis.
Tang played a major role in leading Baylor to 23 wins and the program’s first national tournament championship in 2012-13, when the Bears went on a five-game run to the NIT title. For the first time in school history, every game during the 2012-13 season was televised, including a nation-leading 28 games on ESPN networks.
In addition to his assistant coaching duties, he served as interim head coach in Baylor’s first two Big 12 games of the 2012-13 season, leading BU to an overtime win against Texas and a 34-point win at Texas Tech -- the Bears’ largest-ever margin of victory in Lubbock. After the season, Jackson was selected in the 2013 NBA Draft, giving BU four draft picks in 2012-13, which ranked third nationally.
Baylor made history once again during the 2011-12 season, winning a school-record 30 games and advancing to the NCAA Tournament South Region Final for the second time in three seasons. The Bears were ranked throughout the season for the first time in program history, reaching as high as No. 3 in the polls and never dropping lower than 14th. Following the record-breaking season, the Bears had a program-record three players selected in the 2012 NBA Draft (Jones III, Acy, Miller).
During the 2009-10 season, the Bears won a then-school-record 28 games and tied for second in the Big 12 Conference standings with an 11-5 record. The Bears, who earned a No. 3 seed in the NCAA South Region, won their first NCAA Tournament game in 60 years, advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time in the modern tournament era. Baylor finished the 2009-10 season ranked No. 10 in the final ESPN/USA Today Coaches Top 25 poll and No. 19 in the final AP Top 25 poll.
The Bears became a national media staple during the 2008-09 season as the program set several new school records. Baylor posted back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in school history, while advancing to its first Big 12 Championship title game, only to fall to Missouri. During its improbable postseason run, Baylor became the first No. 9 seed to advance to the Big 12 Championship title game.
Baylor’s 2008-09 squad did something the 2007-08 Bears were unable to accomplish -- win a postseason game. The Bears advanced to the NIT championship game with a semifinal win over San Diego State at Madison Square Garden before falling to Penn State in the title game.
The Bears rose to national prominence in 2007-08, making their second NCAA Tournament appearance in 68 years (1950) and their first since 1988. BU finished with a 21-11 overall record after a first-round loss to No. 18 Purdue, marking the fourth 20-win season in program history.
PRIOR TO BAYLOR
In his decade of service at Heritage Christian, Tang led the program to four state championships and built the Eagles into one of the state’s TAPPS powerhouses. His squad gained national attention in 2001, when one of Tang’s Eagles, junior Cedrick Hensley, scored 101 points in a game.
Feeding off that success, Tang and Heritage Christian became known for producing Division I athletes. Heritage Christian’s most-publicized recruit during Tang’s tenure was Vakeaton “Von” Wafer, a 2003 McDonald’s All-American who played at Florida State and was drafted with the 39th pick by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2005 NBA draft.
Tang’s last two squads at HCA featured other Division I signees in Hensley (Houston), Elijah Miller (Houston), Marlon Pompey (Texas A&M), Lamar Hurd (Oregon State), Tim Mayes (Richmond) and Tyler Jones (St. John’s).
Tang was also the athletic director at Heritage Christian, a birth-through-high school private school that boasted 145 students and just 30 high school students (10th-12th grades). Away from the gym, Tang served as youth pastor at First Assembly of God.
PERSONAL
Tang was born in San Fernando, Trinidad. He migrated with his parents (Paul & Bano Tang) to St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands until age 10 when his family moved to Texas. He and his wife, Careylyen (Rey) have a son, Seven, and a daughter, Aylyn. He also has adopted sons (Lamar & Richard Hurd). His in-laws are Calvin & Carolyn Carter.
Tang earned a bachelor’s degree from Charter Oak State College in 2007.
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