Rod Clark - Men's Basketball Coach (2024)

Rod Clark was handpicked by Rick Barnes to join the Tennessee basketball staff as an assistant coach in April of 2021. A young and energetic rising star in the profession, Clark, 30, helped the Volunteers capture the 2022 SEC Tournament championship and advance to the NCAA Tournament in each of his first two seasons on Rocky Top.

“We had an opportunity to be very selective in making this hire, and I couldn’t be more excited about adding Rod to our staff,” Barnes said when Clark was hired. “We weren’t the only high-major program who wanted him, but thankfully he wanted to be at Tennessee. He fits everything we prioritize in our program culture, and I know he is going to connect with our players in a special way.”

Among the players Clark already helped to develop are NBA standoutsKennedy Chandler(Memphis Grizzlies), Tyrese Maxey (Philadelphia 76ers) andShaq Harrison (Portland Trail Blazers) as well as Gonzaga two-time All-American Drew Timme (Milwaukee Bucks).

“Rod understands how to develop college players and make them better,” former Tennessee associate head coach Mike Schwartz said. “Before transitioning to the college game, he proved himself at the highest levels of high school and grassroots basketball. In doing so, he developed a powerful recruiting network built on genuine relationships.”

Tennessee has appeared in every AP Top 25 pollthrough Clark’s first two years on staff.

Clark helped steer the Vols to a Sweet Sixteen appearance in 2023, during a season that saw Tennessee showcase a statistically historic defense. The Big Orange captured that season’s Battle 4 Atlantis championship and logged memorable wins over No. 12 Duke, No. 10 Texas, No. 3 Kansas, and No. 1 Alabama.

During Clark’s first year at Tennessee, the Volunteers finished 2021-22 ranked No. 5 in final AP poll. The Vols logged four wins over teams ranked in the top 10, boasted the nation’s third-best defensive efficiency and saw Chandler and fellow guard Santiago Vescovi each earn All-SEC honors.

Chandler, a one-and-done talent, was named SEC Tournament MVP before being selected in the 2022 NBA Draft. Freshman wing Julian Phillipsfollowed suit the next year as the 35th pick in the 2023 NBA Draft.

A native of Kansas City, Missouri, Clark spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at Austin Peay State University in Clarksville, Tennessee. The Governors posted a winning record and led the Ohio Valley Conference in offensive rebounding while ranking second in rebounding defense, third in turnover margin and fourth in scoring.

In Clark’s lone season at Austin Peay, senior forward Terry Taylor was named OVC Player of the Year after finishing the season as the only player to rank among the Division I top 10 in both scoring (eighth, 21.6 ppg) and rebounding (seventh, 11.1 rpg).

Clark’s first stop as a collegiate coach came in the Horizon League as an assistant coach at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2019-20. The Flames posted impressive defensive statistics, leading the league in field-goal percentage defense, 3-point defense (14^th nationally) and blocks per game. UIC finished the season with an impressive run to the 2020 Horizon League Tournament championship game.

For a two-year span from 2017-19, Clark honed his skills in player development, video breakdown and scouting as the top assistant coach at Sunrise Christian Academy in Kansas—a national prep basketball powerhouse.

In 2018, Sunrise Christian went 24-2 and finished the season ranked No. 2 nationally according to USA Today and MaxPreps. The 2019 squad followed with a 22-5 record, finished the year ranked 10th nationally and earned the program’s first-ever appearance at the Geico National Tournament.

Clark also spent time as a coach with the prestigious MoKan Elite program on the Nike EYBL circuit. MoKan Elite posted a 30-7 record in 2018 and reached the semifinals at the Nike Peach Jam. He built on that experience to guide MoKan Elite to the Peach Jam championship in 2019 (with a roster that included Chandler).

Clark played his first two seasons of college basketball at Neosho Community College in Kansas and Redlands Community College in Oklahoma, respectively, before concluding his career at NAIA Lindsey Wilson College in Kentucky. He received his degree in Communications from LWC in 2015.

Clark and his wife, Alexis, reside in Knoxville. They welcomed their first child—daughter, Zara—in July of 2021.