Talvin Hester heads into year three as the head coach of the Louisiana Tech men's basketball program.

The 19th head coach in program history was named NABC District 11 Coach of the Year and a Ben Jobe Award finalist after guiding LA Tech to a 22-10 overall record in his second season at the helm, a 7-win improvement from year one with the Bulldogs.  

LA Tech registered a 12-4 CUSA record, finishing second in the league. The Bulldogs went 8-7 in road games, including a 6-2 mark in league contests away from home which was the best winning percentage in such games since 2013. 

They ranked as the top CUSA team in both NET rankings and KenPom while sporting one of the best defenses in the country. The Bulldogs ranked seventh in the nation in field goal percentage defense, allowing teams to shoot just 39.1 percent (lowest in program history since the 1957-58 season). LA Tech held 20 teams under 40 percent shooting this season, tied for the third most in the country. They also ranked 16th in the nation in scoring defense, holding their opponents to 64.5 points per game.

Among the players Hester helped develop were Isaiah Crawford who was voted CUSA Player of the Year and CUSA Defensive Player of the Year as well as Daniel Batcho who was selected as the CUSA Newcomer of the Year. Crawford and Batcho were joined by Tahlik Chavez and Sean Newman Jr. as All-Conference honorees, the most in program history since 1985. 

Hester led LA Tech to a 15-win season in his first season as head coach, picking up his first ever victory in the season opener against Mississippi College as well as claiming the title of the Samford MTE with wins over Alabama A&M, Tennessee-Southern, and host Samford.

Hester brought 20 years of coaching experience back to Ruston, a place he spent three seasons (2018-21) as an assistant coach with the Bulldogs. He departed for Texas Tech, spending one season as an assistant coach where he helped the third-seeded Red Raiders reach the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Tournament.
 
While in Lubbock, he worked under Associated Press Big 12 Coach of the Year Mark Adams. Texas Tech put together a 27-win season including victories over Montana State and Notre Dame to help the program make its fifth Sweet 16 appearance in program history. 
 
TTU, which had five All-Big 12 selections, was ranked as high as No. 9 in the country and reached the Big 12 championship final for just the second time in program history. The Red Raiders had the No. 1 ranked defense in the country (per Kenpom.com) while limiting opponents to only 60.2 points per game, holding teams to 38.2 percent shooting and forcing 15.9 turnovers per contest.
 
During his three successful years at LA Tech under Eric Konkol, Hester helped the Bulldogs register three winning seasons of 20-plus victories.  The 2020-21 season saw the ‘Dogs register a 24-8 overall record while claiming a CUSA West Division title and a third place finish in the National Invitation Tournament.  The team received an at-large berth to play in the NIT for the first time since 2015 and became just the second team in program history to make the Final Four. 
 
LA Tech, which had the highest-rated defense in CUSA ranking top 30 in the country in field goal percentage defense and three-point field goal percentage defense, upset Ole Miss in the first round, defeated league foe WKU in the quarterfinals and won a 76-74 thriller over No. 1 overall seed Colorado State in the Final Four consolation game.

In his second season in 2019-20, the Bulldogs registered a 22-8 overall record during the regular slate, but the team did not have a chance at postseason play with the CUSA and NCAA/NIT Tournaments being canceled due to the public health threat of COVID-19. The 22 wins ended up being the most victories of any CUSA team and of any Louisiana Division I team.  The Bulldogs also recorded a 13-5 league record, finishing in a tie for second place.

In his first year with the 'Dogs, Hester helped the team to 20 victories.  Eight of the 20 victories came against teams who also produced 20-win seasons, the most in program history. One of those came in the season opener at Wichita State as the Bulldogs shocked the Shockers, handing them only their fourth loss in their last 76 games at home. 
 
Along with the four Bulldogs who earned All-CUSA honors in 2023-24, Hester has also coached All-CUSA selections DaQuan Bracey (First Team), Kenneth Lofton Jr. (Third Team and CUSA Freshman of the Year), Cobe Williams (Honorable Mention), and Keaston Willis (Honorable Mention) as well as Jordan Crawford who was chosen to the CUSA All-Freshman Team for the 2022-23 season. Lofton is in his second season in the NBA, currently playing for the Utah Jazz organization.
 
Along with stops at Texas Tech and LA Tech, Hester spent the majority of his coaching career in the south, especially in the Lone Star State.  He spent time at Oral Roberts, Houston, Texas State, Stephen F. Austin, San Jose State, Prairie View A&M, Texas College, Texas Wesleyan and North Lake College during his career.
 
Hester coached at Oral Roberts (2017-18) with head coach Paul Mills where Hester was instrumental in the recruitment of Kevin Obanor who would help lead the team to the 2021 Sweet 16.

He also worked for Kelvin Sampson at Houston from 2014-17, helping turnaround the Cougars program which reached the 2020 Final Four.  In his first season at UH, the Cougars recorded a nine-win improvement from the previous season, earning 22 victories for the first time in eight years.  The Cougars finished second in the American Athletic Conference and earned an NIT appearance, which was their first postseason action since 2013.
 
In his second season as an UH assistant, the program boasted a 21-win season in 2016-17, a third-place finish in the AAC and another trip to the NIT.  While at Houston, Hester coached four All-AAC selections including Rob Gray and Damyean Dotson who became the first duo in the program's history to be selected first team in the same season since 1990.

Hester spent one season as an assistant coach at Texas State (2013-14) and Stephen F. Austin (2012-13). While with the Lumberjacks, the team posted a 27-5 overall record and claimed the Southland Conference regular season title.

His first coaching experience outside the Lone Star State came at San Jose State from 2010-12.  In his first year with the Spartans, they earned the program’s first postseason bid since 1996 (CBI) and a 17-16, the most wins since the 1980-81 season.

He spent five seasons at Prairie View A&M (2005-10) where he was promoted to associate head coach. He helped the Panthers to winning records in both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 season, the first time the program registered back-to-back winning seasons in decades.

Hester began his coaching career in 2002 at North Lake College in Irving, Texas before he spent one year at his alma mater Texas Wesleyan and one at Texas College.  His coaching resume also includes a stop with the Texas Rim Rockers of the United States Basketball League as an assistant coaching intern and the Dallas Mustangs AAU team for one season.  He was an assistant coach at Texas College in Tyler, Texas for the 2004-05 season before going to Prairie View A&M.

As a student-athlete, Hester played at Dallas Christian College during the 1996-97 season.  He received his bachelor's degree in interdisciplinary studies from Texas Wesleyan in 2003.

Hester is married to the former Jamieka Jackson and they are the parents of a daughter, Rhyan.

What They are Saying about Talvin Hester

Mark Adams, East Carolina Assistant Coach
“Coach Hester was invaluable to the success of our program this year.  I have no doubt that his 20 years of college experience and extraordinary passion for LA Tech makes him a perfect fit to lead the program.”

Eric Konkol, University of Tulsa Head Coach
“Talvin has been a part of tremendous programs across many levels of basketball during his career.  He was an integral part of ours as a coach, mentor to the players, and member of the community.  Talvin has a terrific basketball mind, is an outstanding recruiter, and is a winner.  I am very happy for Talvin, Jamieka, and Rhyan on their return to Ruston.”
 
Alvin Brooks, Lamar University Head Coach
“Talvin Hester is the complete package.  He possesses a great understanding of the game, is a tremendous teacher and recruiter, leader of people and has the ability to develop special relationships with his players.  Talvin Hester is a wonderful role model for young men and a winner.” 
 
Kelvin Sampson, University of Houston Head Coach
“This is a grand slam hire for Louisiana Tech.  Talvin’s work ethic, his unbelievable communication skills, his temperament, his connectivity with the players, it was just a matter of time before Talvin became a head coach.  I applaud Louisiana Tech for this hire.  Congratulations to Talvin and congratulations to Louisiana Tech.”
 
Paul Mills, Oral Roberts University Head Coach
“Talvin’s experience, knowledge, and genuine love of people provide a unique combination for a leader in college basketball.  Talvin is the total package.  He is a winner in every facet.  His handprints are all over each program he has been involved with as an assistant and he has left each of those programs better due to his involvement.  Great things are in store for Louisiana Tech as the Bulldogs are in great hands.”
 
Armoni Brooks, NBA G League Guard
“Coach Hester is a great coach but an even better person.  I have known him for years and he cares about his players off the court almost more than on the court.  He is going to make sure his team plays hard and plays together while making sure that he teaches life lessons off the court.”
 

CAREER YEAR	TEAM	POSITION	POSTSEASON
2002-03	Northlake College	Assistant Coach
2003	Texas Rim Rockers (USBL)	Assistant Coach
2003-04	Texas Wesleyan	Assistant Coach
2004-05	Texas College	Assistant Coach
2005-10	Prairie View A&M	Assistant Coach
2010-12	San Jose State	Assistant Coach	CBI
2012-13	Stephen F. Austin	Assistant Coach	NIT
2013-14	Texas State	Assistant Coach
2014-17	Houston	Assistant Coach	NIT (twice), NCAA 2nd Round
2017-18	Oral Roberts	Assistant Coach
2018-21	Louisiana Tech	Assistant Coach	NIT Final Four
2021-22	Texas Tech	Assistant Coach	NCAA Sweet 16
2022-present	Louisiana Tech	Head Coach