News release from Texas A&M Athletics:
BRYAN-COLLEGE STATION – Men’s basketball head coach Bucky McMillan has added veteran assistant coach TJ Cleveland to his initial coaching staff at Texas A&M.
Widely regarded as one of the top assistant coaches in the game with a focus on guard play, Cleveland has established a reputation as a strong recruiter in stints at UAB (2002-06), Missouri (2006-11), Arkansas (2011-19), St. John’s (2019-23) and most recently Wichita State (2023-25).
At Wichita State, Cleveland played a key role in the team’s success as the Shockers advanced to the NIT in 2024-25. He helped coach Paul Mills win 34 games in his two first seasons at WSU, which was the third-most by a second-year head coach in school history. A pair of Shockers earned American Athletic Conference honors, which hadn’t happened in the same season since 2022.
Prior to his time at Wichita State, Cleveland served 21 seasons under four-time coach of the year Mike Anderson at four different schools – St. John’s, Arkansas, Missouri and UAB. He originally joined Anderson’s UAB staff in 2002 as video coordinator before being promoted to assistant coach in 2005.
As Anderson’s associate head coach at St. John’s, Cleveland was instrumental in setting the foundation for a team on the rise, notably in recruiting, skill development and scouting. In 2020-21, Cleveland helped guide the Red Storm to its first winning record in BIG EAST play since 2014-15 and tutored Posh Alexander, who brought home both BIG EAST Freshman of the Year and BIG EAST Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Patrick Ewing and Allen Iverson as the only players to win both awards at the same time.
As a team in 2020-21, St. John’s finished seventh in the NCAA in steals per game (9.1), 17th in turnover margin (+3.8), 17th in assists per game and 30th in scoring offense (79.0).
St. John’s continued much of that forward momentum in 2021-22, finishing with a winning record (17-15) for the third time in as many seasons. The Johnnies ranked second nationally in assists per game (18.8), and also finished sixth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.57), 10th in blocks per game (5.5), 12th in scoring offense (79.6) and 15th in steals per game (8.9).
In his first year with the program in 2019-20, Cleveland helped the Johnnies rank among the national leaders in steals per game (2nd), turnover margin (3rd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (23rd).
In eight seasons at his alma mater Arkansas, Cleveland helped guide the Razorbacks to the postseason five times, making three trips to the NCAA Tournament and a pair of NIT appearances. Arkansas posted a 169-102 overall record during his tenure in Fayetteville with four years of 22-wins or more, including 27 victories in 2014-15 to mark the program’s highest single season win total in two decades.
In 2017 and 2018, Cleveland helped the Razorbacks land a pair of top 25 recruiting classes that featured seven of the top eight players in the state of Arkansas during that span. During his career, Cleveland has been invited to participate in Nike’s Villa 7 Consortium five times and was one of only 30 assistant coaches in the nation selected for the College Coaching Consortium at the 2019 NABC Convention in Minneapolis.
In five seasons at Missouri, Cleveland helped the Tigers register three NCAA Tournament appearances, including a run to the Elite Eight in 2009. That year, Missouri won 31 games and claimed the Big 12 Tournament title. Missouri was led by DeMarre Carroll, a first round selection in the 2009 NBA Draft, who Cleveland mentored during his time with the Tigers.
During Cleveland’s tenure at Missouri, the Tigers ranked second in the NCAA in turnover margin for three straight seasons while leading the nation in steals during the 2009-2010 campaign. The previous year, the Tigers topped the nation in assists.
A teammate of 18-year NBA veteran Joe Johnson during his playing days at Arkansas, Cleveland has mentored nine future NBA players, including 2015 first round draft pick Bobby Portis during his most recent stint at Arkansas. In 2014-15, Cleveland helped guide Portis to SEC Player of the Year and Associated Press Second Team All-America honors.
With Cleveland on staff, Anderson-led teams topped the nation in steals four times and ranked among the top-30 17 times in 20 seasons. His teams also led the country in assists once and have ranked among the top 30 on 10 occasions. Anderson and Cleveland saw their squads rank in the top 30 in scoring offense nine times.
A four-year letterwinner for the Razorbacks under Hall of Famer Nolan Richardson from 1998-2002, Cleveland helped guide Arkansas to the 2000 SEC Tournament title, marking Arkansas’s lone conference tournament title since joining the SEC. A two-year team captain, Cleveland made three NCAA Tournament appearances as a player in Fayetteville and currently ranks fifth on the program’s all-time steals list with 226.
Cleveland and his wife, Ami (Watson), are the proud parents of twins Caynen Thomas and Cayden James.