Briefly
• 2023-24 is his ninth season on the XULA men's basketball staff and his sixth as associate head coach
• XULA announced the hiring of Mitchell on Aug. 18, 2015
• XULA is 160-83 (.658) in Mitchell's first eight seasons with six
NAIA national tournament appearances, two Gulf Coast Athletic Conference regular-season championships
and three end-of-season tournament championships: two in the GCAC (2019-20 and 2020-21) and one in the
Red River Athletic Conference (2022-23)
• 2023-24 is his 10th season overall as a college coach —
he was an assistant at Baton Rouge (La.) Community College in 2014-15
• 2006 graduate of Northwestern State University (Natchitoches, La.), bachelor of arts degree
• Native of New Iberia, La., and a graduate of Marine Military Academy Prep School in Harlingen, Texas
At XULA
• Two GCAC regular-season championships: 2017-18, 2019-20
• Two GCAC Tournament championships: 2019-20 — the Gold Rush's first GCAC Tournament
championship since the 1995-96 season — and 2020-21
• One RRAC Tournament championship: 2022-23
• Qualified six times for NAIA National Championship tournaments: 2015-16, 2017-18, 2019-20, 2020-21, 2021-22, 2022-23
• No. 10 in the final NAIA Division I top 25 coaches poll of 2019-20
• 21 victories against top-25 opponents, seven in 2019-20
• 11 NAIA All-America citations, including William Loyd on the second team in 2019-20
• GCAC individual player major awards: Player of the Year for Rayshawn Mart (2020-21), Freshman of the Year
for Rayshawn Mart (2017-18), TJ Jones (2019-20, shared) and Corey Dunning (2020-21), Defensive Player of the Year
for Joseph Williams (2017-18)
• Six of his first eight teams were top-10 in NAIA Division I scoring defense . . .
No. 3 in 2015-16 with 64.1 points allowed per game, No. 7 in 2017-18 with 67.8,
No. 10 in 2019-20 with 67.6, No. 2 in 2020-21 with 62.1, No. 3 in 2021-22 with 60.6
and No. 7 in 2022-23 with 64.1
Professional Basketball
• Played seven years in Europe, all with teams based in Romania
• Closed his career in 2013 by helping Targu Mures finish second in the Romanian Championships
• In his debut season (2006-07) he led Gaz Matan in scoring and assists and helped the team earn its first playoff appearance in 10 years
At Northwestern State (Student-Athlete)
• A 6-foot-1 guard who averaged 6.9 points, three rebounds, 4.2 assists
and 2.2 steals and made 97 3-pointers in 120 games in four seasons (2002-06)
• Selected to the Demons' modern era "Fab 50" (1976-2012)
• Four-year starter
• Single-game highs included 16 points, eight rebounds, 13 assists and a school-record-tying eight steals
• Still holds school record for career steals with 264 and is No. 4 with 509 career assists
• All-Southland Conference second team as a senior (2005-06)
• Contributed five points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals in the Demons' 64-63 upset of
third-seeded Iowa in the 2006 NCAA Tournament . . . Northwestern State trailed the Hawkeyes by 17 points with 8 1/2
minutes remaining and won on Jermaine Wallace's corner 3-pointer with five-tenths of a second remaining
. . . Mitchell was in the lineup during the winning shot . . . That comeback for the "Demons of Destiny" was named the greatest in
Southland men's basketball history in a 2013 fan poll to celebrate the conference's 50th anniversary
High School
• As a sophomore at New Iberia Senior High School (1998-99), Mitchell was a starter on a team that
was 30-7 and reached the semifinals of the Class 5A state playoffs
• He then spent his junior and senior years at Marine Military Academy Prep School in Harlingen, Texas,
where he was a standout in basketball and football
What They Said About Tyrone Mitchell When He Arrived at XULA
Mike McConathy, Northwestern State University Head Coach from 1999-2022
"Tyrone's leadership ability as a player is second to
none that I've ever coached. He's a fierce competitor and one of the greatest locker room leaders I've ever
known. He made sure players were doing what they needed to do off the floor, as well as on the court, in a
competitive nature, and that breeds success in a program. I feel strongly he will carry that forward as he
coaches young men. He will be a great influence on them in basketball and in life."
Eric Wilson, former Baton Rouge Community College Head Coach
"It was a pleasure working with Coach Mitchell. He is a family man that is dedicated
to helping young men. I want to thank him for all that he has done for the program here at Baton Rouge
Community College. He will be sorely missed but we are excited for the opportunity that he has ahead of him.
Xavier is getting an assistant coach that is great on the court and great off the court helping kids academically.
We want to wish him all the best in the future."
Mark Slessinger, University of New Orleans Head Coach
"In my 20 years of college coaching, Tyrone Mitchell was
one of the most dynamic leaders I have worked with. He has an incredible feel for the game.
Xavier has signed a young superstar in the making. He has a great feel for talent
and is able to relate to young men, especially those from Louisiana, and develop them."
