Tyson Batiste heads into his second season with the Bulldog staff as an assistant coach.
In his first season at LA Tech, Batiste helped the program to a 20-win campaign including a scorching 7-0 start to open the season, the program’s best in 40 years. As part of the winning streak, the Bulldogs captured the Gulf Coast Showcase championship, earning victories over Southern Illinois, Richmond, and Eastern Kentucky. The team also tallied a signature non-conference win against WAC Tournament champion Grand Canyon in the WAC/CUSA Challenge.
The Bulldogs set a program record for single-season free throw percentage, shooting 75.0 percent from the line and surpassing a mark that had stood since the 1976-77 season. The squad continued to hang their hat on defense, finishing top 50 in the nation in both field goal percentage defense (41.3) and three-point field goal percentage defense (30.9).
Three Bulldogs would earn All-CUSA honors, highlighted by Daniel Batcho who was named CUSA Defensive Player of the Year.
Prior to coming to Ruston, Batiste spent two seasons at Sacramento State, first serving as director of basketball operations before being promoted to assistant coach.
During the 2023-24 slate, Batiste helped the Hornets defeat Idaho and top-seeded Eastern Washington in the Big Sky Tournament, advancing the semifinals for the first time since 2015. In year one with Sacramento State, the team finished sixth in the league and earned a first-round by in the Big Sky Tournament for the first time since 1996.
Prior to joining the Sacramento State staff, Batiste spent the 2021-22 season as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech. While with the Red Raiders, he worked alongside Hester and LA Tech assistant coach Darshawn McClellan as Texas Tech made a run all the way to the NCAA Sweet 16.
Batiste was also a graduate assistant at Arkansas in 2020-21 when the Razorbacks made it to the Elite 8.
He played three years at Central Connecticut (2016-19) where he was a two-time team captain. He played his final season (2019-20) as a graduate transfer at The Citadel where he was also a team captain and finished 40th in the country in assists per game (5.3).
The Springfield, Missouri native earned his bachelor’s degree in general business management from Central Connecticut in 2019.
