Rod Clark Leaves Tennessee for Indiana Assistant Coach Role

By Joglo Lawasan July 05, 2025 Post a Comment

Rod Clark has been employed at Indiana and is departing Tennessee basketball Following four years as an auxiliary team mentor, Rick Barnes His agent, Dan Cutler from Excel Sports Management, verified this information to Knox News.

He most certainly will excel in his role at Indiana," Barnes stated during the Big Orange Caravan event in Nashville on April 30. "We have everything under control since many individuals would undoubtedly want to take over as head coach at the University of Tennessee—my position. We are thrilled with our progress and believe we've nearly completed our hiring.

Clark was brought on board to be part of Darian DeVries's original team at Indiana. DeVries, who previously spent six years coaching at Drake before taking the helm at West Virginia for one season, was appointed in March to take over from Mike Woodson.

During his tenure with the Vols, Clark experienced some of the most successful periods in the team’s history. The squad clinched an SEC Tournament championship in 2022 followed by securing an SEC regular-season crown in 2024. Additionally, they achieved consecutive Elite Eights for the first time ever in the program’s timeline in both 2024 and 2025.

"Rod did an excellent job," Barnes remarked. "However, we think that spot is well-covered. At Tennessee, everything we do isn’t reliant on a single recruit; it’s always about teamwork. As a coaching staff, we focus on collective recruitment efforts. This approach works for us since we understand these kinds of situations can occur. Every prospect we bring in should be familiar with everyone on our team. That way, responsibilities overlap effectively.”

Rod Clark played a key role in Vols securing Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier.

Clark, who is 32 years old, played a crucial role in Tennessee’s recruiting initiatives, particularly within the transfer portal. He notably led the effort to bring in Dalton Knecht and Chaz Lanier to UT.

Clark arranged for Knecht to visit in April 2023. This 6-foot-6 guard, previously with Northern Colorado, proceeded to claim the SEC Player of the Year title and delivered one of the most outstanding performances in the history of Vol basketball. Additionally, Knecht earned recognition as a first-team All-American, becoming only the fourth such honoree at Tennessee University.

In the 2024 portal class from North Florida, Lanier was a participant. He established the Tennessee single-season record by making 123 three-point shots. This 6-foot-5-inch guard received numerous All-American accolades.

Clark played a crucial role in attracting top recruits like Zakai Zeigler, Tobe Awaka, JP Estrella, and Amari Evans to the University of Texas.

After spending four years coaching basketball at Tennessee, Rod Clark was brought on board by Indiana.

Clark's initial high-major college coaching position was at Tennessee.

He spent one season at the University of Illinois-Chicago prior to being recruited to coach at Austin Peay for the 2020-21 season. Before this, he had been coaching at Sunrise Christian Academy in Wichita, Kansas, between 2017 and 2019.

Clark hails from Kansas City, Missouri. For his last two years in college, he played at Lindsey Blue Devil College in Columbia, Kentucky. Initially, he spent his first two collegiate seasons playing for Neosho Community College in Kansas and Redlands Community College in Oklahoma.

Mike Wilson Covers University of Tennessee sports. Email him at michael.wilson@knoxnews.com and follow him on Twitter @ ByMikeWilson . If you like Mike’s reporting, consider a digital subscription This will provide you with access to everything.

The article was initially published in the Knoxville News Sentinel. Rod Clark has been appointed as an assistant coach for Indiana, stepping down from his position at Tennessee basketball.