Tyler Ulis named head coach of La Familia, Kentucky's alumni TBT team

La Familia, Kentucky’s alumni team in The Basketball Tournament (TBT), already has an impressive roster. Now, it has one of the most beloved Cats of all time calling the plays.

Tyler Ulis was just announced as the head coach of La Familia, which hosts a TBT regional at Rupp Arena July 19-23. Ulis served as a student assistant on John Calipari’s staff at Kentucky from 2022-24. As a player, he was one of the stars of the 2014-15 and 2015-16 teams, winning SEC Player of the Year, SEC Defensive Player of the Year, SEC Tournament MVP, and the Bob Cousy Award in his sophomore season. Ulis was drafted No. 34 overall in the 2016 NBA Draft by the Phoenix Suns and spent two seasons in the league.

“I’m very excited to be named La Familia’s first head coach,” Ulis said in a release from La Familia. “We’ve assembled a great group of Kentucky basketball legends, and I’m really looking forward to being able to work with everyone. Playing these games at home in front of our fans is an incredible honor for our group, and we’ll make sure the guys are focused this summer to go win that $1 million grand prize!”

Ulis will lead a team that currently consists of ten former Kentucky players: Eric Bledsoe (2009-10), Daniel Orton (2009-10), Doron Lamb (2010-12), Marquis Teague (2011-12), Willie Cauley-Stein (2012-15), James Young (2013-14), Andrew Harrison (2013-15), Reid Travis (2018-19), Nate Sestina (2019-20), and Kellan Grady (2021-22). Twany Beckham (2011-13) serves as general manager.

La Familia will be one of 64 teams chasing the TBT grand prize of $1 million. They will be joined by seven other squads in the Lexington Regional, the bracket and matchups of which will be announced on June 26. Tickets for the Lexington Regional are now on sale at thetournament.com/tbt/tickets.