Nicholls State University

HONORS/ACCOLADES
- 2024 Joe B. Hall National Coach of the Year Finalist (Top 1st-year head coach)
- 2024 Jobe National Coach of the Year Finalist (Top minority head coach)
- HoopDirt.com Division I Coach of the Week
- Most wins in program history (20) for a first-year head coach
- Most Southland wins (13) for a first-year head coach
- Led Nicholls to just its eighth and ninth 20-win seasons in school history
- Led the Colonels to their first back-to-back 20-win seasons in program history

MILESTONE VICTORIES
- 1st career/Power 5 victory -- Nov. 10, 2023 -- at LSU (68-66)
- 1st home victory -- Nov. 21, 2023 -- Blue Mountain Christian (86-56)
- 1st Southland victory -- Jan. 6, 2024 -- at HCU (98-94 OT)
- 1st Southland Tournament victory -- March 11, 2024 -- vs. East Texas A&M (72-51)


Tevon Saddler was named the 13th head coach of Nicholls State University men’s basketball on April 20, 2023, becoming the youngest active Division I head coach in the country. In his first two seasons, Saddler wasted no time in making history, leading the Colonels to back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in program history. His 20 overall victories and 13 Southland Conference wins both set new records for a first-year head coach at Nicholls, while his team added just the eighth and ninth 20-win campaigns in school history.

For his immediate impact, Saddler earned national recognition as a 2024 Joe B. Hall Award Finalist, presented to the top first-year head coach, and a 2024 Ben Jobe Award Finalist, honoring the nation’s top minority head coach. He was also named HoopDirt.com Division I Coach of the Week during the season.

Along the way, Saddler secured milestone victories that energized the program and the Colonel fan base. His first career win came over a Power 5 opponent in Baton Rouge on November 10, 2023, when Nicholls defeated LSU, 68–66. He followed that with his first home victory later in the month against Blue Mountain Christian, his first Southland Conference win in January against Houston Christian in overtime, and his first Southland Tournament win in March over East Texas A&M.

Saddler’s coaching journey has taken him through multiple levels of Division I basketball, building a foundation of experience that prepared him for his return to Thibodaux. Prior to being named head coach, he spent the 2022–23 season at the University of Maryland as the director of player personnel, where he helped guide the Terrapins to a 22-win campaign highlighted by an upset of No. 1 Purdue and a first-round NCAA Tournament victory over West Virginia. The year before, he served as an assistant coach at McNeese, becoming one of the youngest assistants in the nation while helping the Cowboys to their first Southland Tournament win since 2014 and recruiting Southland Freshman of the Year Johnathan Massie. Saddler also returned to Nicholls from 2019–21 as director of basketball operations, during which time the Colonels won 39 games overall, posted a 29–7 conference record, and captured the 2020–21 Southland regular season championship. His first coaching stop came at South Alabama in 2018–19, where he served as a graduate assistant under former Nicholls head coach Richie Riley and worked daily with All-Sun Belt performers Trhae Mitchell and Josh Ajeyi.

Before entering the coaching ranks, Saddler was an accomplished player at both UNC Greensboro and Nicholls. He began his career at UNCG, where he was named Southern Conference Freshman of the Year and earned consecutive All-Conference honors before transferring to Nicholls. In his lone season with the Colonels, he played a pivotal role in leading the program to its first Southland Conference Championship in 20 years and was named All-Southland.

A native of Aberdeen, Maryland, Saddler earned a Bachelor of Science in Sociology from Nicholls State University in 2018, followed by a Master of Science in Sport Management from the University of South Alabama in 2019. His unique journey as both a player and coach has shaped him into one of the most promising young leaders in the game, and he continues to build on the tradition of Colonel basketball with energy, vision, and a proven commitment to winning. 


COACHING RECORD AT NICHOLLS

Year	Overall	Win%	SLC	Win%	Place
2023-24	20-14	.577	13-5	.722	3rd/10
2024-25	20-12	.625	13-7	.650	3rd/12
Total	40-26	.606	26-12	.684