While Indiana men’s basketball head coach Darian DeVries continues to rebuild the Hoosiers roster ahead of the 2025-26 season, he’s also adding to his inaugural coaching staff in Bloomington.
DeVries hired former University of Tennessee assistant coach Rod Clark, according to CBS Sports’ Jon Rothstein’s X post Wednesday. The Knoxville News Sentinel’s Mike Wilson confirmed the news just minutes after Rothstein’s post.
Clark three other coaches on DeVries’ staff:
- Former West Virginia assistant coach Nick Norton
- Former Georgetown University — and Indiana — assistant coach Kenny Johnson
- Former University of Cincinnati assistant coach Drew Adams
Indiana Athletics has yet to officially announce Clark’s, Johnson’s and Adams’ hirings.
The 32-year-old Clark spent the past four seasons under Tennessee head coach Rick Barnes and played a key role in landing players such as Dalton Knecht, who Indiana also pursued, and Chaz Lanier out of the transfer portal in 2023 and 2024, respectively.
Knecht arrived at Tennessee from the University of Northern Colorado and became an Associated Press First Team All-American in his lone season with the Volunteers before being selected by the Los Angeles Lakers in the 2024 NBA Draft.
Lanier, who also played just one season at Tennessee, transferred to Knoxville from the University of North Florida — where Indiana portal additions Jasai Miles and Josh Harris previously played. Lanier was instrumental in the Volunteers’ run to the NCAA Tournament Elite Eight in 2024-25, draining a program-record 123 3-pointers throughout the season.
Prior to arriving at Tennessee ahead of the 2021-22 season, Clark spent the 2020-21 season as an assistant coach at Austin Peay State University. His first collegiate coaching stop came at the University of Illinois at Chicago in 2019-20.
Ahead of making the move to the college ranks, Clark was an assistant coach at national preparatory basketball powerhouse Sunrise Christian Academy in Bel Aire, Kansas, from 2017-19. He advanced his skills in player development, video breakdown and scouting as the top assistant on the coaching staff.
Clark was also a collegiate player himself. He played his first two seasons at the junior college level at Neosho Community College and then Redlands Community College. He then finished his playing career at National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics' Lindsey Wilson College, where he graduated in 2015.
Dalton James covers Indiana women's basketball and football for the Indiana Daily Student. You can follow him at @DaltonMJames on X and contact him via email at jamesdm@iu.edu.
