For the third straight year, La Familia will have a new head coach guiding the program in The Basketball Tournament, as former Kentucky guard Jon Hood takes over the Wildcats alumni team for the 2026 event.
Hood follows former Kentucky guards Tyler Ulis and Sean Woods, who each previously led La Familia during its first two tournament appearances. Ulis helped guide the team to the Final Four during its inaugural season, while Woods led La Familia to the Sweet 16 in 2025.
Hood also brings coaching experience
to the role. He began his collegiate coaching career at Kentucky Wesleyan College during the 2020-21 season before joining Missouri Western State University as an assistant coach in 2021. Since arriving at Missouri Western, Hood has helped guide the program to two conference tournament appearances, victories over multiple ranked opponents, and four All-MIAA selections.
Before entering the college coaching ranks, Hood also coached at Frederick Douglass High School in Lexington while working basketball camps, including camps for former Kentucky head coach John Calipari.
A native of Madisonville, Kentucky, Hood played five seasons at Kentucky and was part of the Wildcats’ 2012 national championship team. He helped Kentucky reach three Final Fours during his collegiate career after arriving as part of the program’s highly ranked 2009 recruiting class alongside stars such as John Wall, DeMarcus Cousins, and Eric Bledsoe.
Before Kentucky, Hood starred at North Hopkins High School, where he earned Kentucky Mr. Basketball and Kentucky Gatorade Player of the Year honors in 2009.
