According to a 2020 story by ESPN journalist Jeff Borzello, Lloyd's journey to his assistant coach position at Gonzaga actually began while he was playing in junior college.

He made the call to Monson after his Whitman career, but had to back out once receiving an opportunity to play overseas.

By that time, Monson had left for Minnesota immediately after Gonzaga's 1999 Elite Eight run, and his top assistant Mark Few had replaced him as the Zags' head coach.

He began to develop a niche as an international recruiter early in his tenure on Few's staff.

In Borzello's story, Few recalled that one area where he wanted Lloyd to develop was recruiting, telling him that in order to become an assistant at a top program, he needed a niche.

[10]Among the international players that Lloyd has played a role in recruiting are former Bulldogs Mario Kasun (Croatia), Ronny Turiaf (France), J.P. Batista (Brazil), Abdullahi Kuso (Nigeria), Robert Sacre (Canada), Kelly Olynyk (Canada), Elias Harris (Germany), Kevin Pangos (Canada), Przemek Karnowski (Poland), Domantas Sabonis (Lithuania), Rui Hachimura (Japan), Killian Tillie (France), Filip Petrušev (Serbia), Joël Ayayi (France), Martynas Arlauskas (Lithuania), Pavel Zakharov (Russia), and Oumar Ballo (Mali).

[11][12][13][14] Lloyd has also been integral in developing NBA players for Gonzaga like Turiaf, Adam Morrison, Jeremy Pargo, Austin Daye, Sacre, Olynyk, Kyle Wiltjer, Sabonis, Zach Collins, Hachimura, and Brandon Clarke.

Lloyd had previously turned down numerous interview requests for head-coaching positions during his Gonzaga tenure.

Gonzaga athletic director Mike Roth said, "Tommy has it in writing from me and the [university] president that says, as long as he's here, when Mark retires, it's your job.

Two weeks after the 2021 NCAA tournament ended, Lloyd was announced as a candidate for the vacant head-coaching position at Arizona, which had been led the previous 12 seasons by Sean Miller.

Arizona entered the top 25 AP Poll for the first time under Coach Lloyd at Number 17, on November 22, 2021.

[18] On December 5, Coach Lloyd defeated his first Pac-12 opponent in his first Pac-12 game, the Oregon State Beavers, 90–65.

[19] In the December 13, 2021 AP poll, Arizona reached the top 10 for the first time under coach Lloyd, coming in at number 8.

[23][24] Before the 2022–23 season, Arizona had three players, Bennedict Mathruin (Pacers), Dalen Terry(Bulls) & Christian Koloko (Raptors) taken in the 2022 NBA draft.

[28] Arizona would end the season losing to their rival in Los Angeles, 73–82, giving them an overall record of 25–6 & 14–6 in conference play.

2 seed in the South Region of the 2023 NCAA Tournament, with a first round match up against Ivy League Champion and No.

Arizona ended non-conference play 6–5 with a 4th place finish in the Battle 4 Atlantis.

[33] Lloyd became the head coach of the United States under-19 men's national basketball team in 2024.

[34] Lloyd coached the 2024 FIBA U18 Men’s AmeriCup in Buenos Aires, Argentina from June 3–9, 2024 alongside his assistant coaches Grant McCasland (Texas Tech University) and Micah Shrewsberry (University of Notre Dame).

Conference tournament champion Tommy Lloyd and his wife Chanelle built a new house in Spokane in 2018, with a "video game system covered in Gonzaga paraphernalia in the basement."