Coach Tyson Aye has been selected as the new head coach of the Allan Hancock College men’s basketball team and will serve as an instructor in the kinesiology, athletics and recreation department.

"My coaching style is very high intensity but within a positive learning environment," Aye said. "I always go into each season with high expectations and my goal is to come in right away and compete for a conference championship."’

Aye has spent the last eight years as the head coach of the men’s basketball team at Imperial Valley College, where he led the team to back-to-back Pacific Coast Conference Championships in 2007 and 2008 and was named conference Coach of the Year both seasons. The Imperial Valley Arabs travelled to Santa Maria in 2012, beating the Bulldogs 79-72 in a first round playoff game at the end of the 2011-12 season.

"Coach Aye has clearly demonstrated to the hiring committee that he has a keen ability to teach the game of basketball while keeping student athletes engaged," said Kim Ensing, associate dean/athletic director, kinesiology, recreation and athletics.

During his career so far, Aye has coached 34 All-Conference and nine All-State players and has helped 47 former players move on to four-year institutions.

"I want to help all of my players, whether they’re the leading scorer or the 13th man, to reach their goals and to move on to the four-year university level," Aye said.

Aye has experience both playing and coaching at the community college level. He began his college career at Fresno City College playing point guard for his father, coach Denny Aye. At the end of his sophomore season, Aye earned a scholarship to Concordia University, Irvine, where he was a two-time Academic All-American and helped lead his team to the Elite 8 in the NAIA National Tournament.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Concordia, Aye landed his first coaching job as an assistant at San Jose State University, where he earned a master’s degree in kinesiology with an emphasis in human performance and sports management.

Aye returned to community college basketball in 2002, serving as an assistant coach for two seasons at San Jose City College under California Community College Men’s Basketball

Coaching Association Hall of Fame coach Percy Carr. While there, his team earned a 47-17 record and won the Coast South Conference Championship in 2004. He then coached one season with his father at Marshalltown Community College, helping to lead the team to their best season in school history, a 25-9 record and a runner-up finish in the National Junior College Athletic Association Region XI championships.

Aye said he has an affinity for community college basketball and instruction. He taught physical education and health at Imperial Valley College and was voted Employee of the Year by his fellow instructors, administrators and students in 2008.

"One of Coach Aye’s strengths is that he has a proven record of success with regard to teaching and coaching in the California community college system," Ensing said.

Aye will be in the classroom at Allan Hancock College beginning fall semester 2013. His first order of business when he arrives on the Central Coast, however, will be to meet with current basketball players and other members of the staff and faculty in the athletic department and across campus. Aye said that he, his wife Stefanie and daughter Avery, 2, are excited to move to Santa Maria.

"I really want to be involved on campus and in the community," Aye said. "You’ll be seeing me and my family and my basketball team represented in this community very soon."

It is expected that Coach Aye’s contract will be formally approved by the board of trustees at their June 18 meeting. The 2013-14 men’s basketball team will start practicing on Oct. 1.

"I want to recruit the best athletes that I can that will represent me, the college and the community in the best possible way," Aye said.

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