TUSCALOOSA, Alabama: Multiple rumors state that Austin Claunch, the assistant basketball coach for Alabama, will be departing Tuscaloosa to pursue a head coaching position at UTSA. He returned to his home state after completing his high school education in Houston.
Claunch joined Nate Oats’ staff in the 2023 offseason after playing for the Crimson Tide for one season. He was the Southland Conference’s head coach at Nicholls State for five seasons, from 2018 to 2023, before joining Alabama.
Along with three other assistant coaches from Oats’ 2022–2023 staff—Bryan Hodgson at Arkansas State, Antoine Pettway at Kennesaw State, and Charlie Henry at Georgia Southern—this will be the fourth assistant coach at Alabama to go for a head coaching role. With a 90-61 career coaching record, Claunch won the Southland regular season championship twice while he was at Nicholls. After Claunch was hired in April of last year, Oats remarked of him, “Austin is one of the hardest working guys in the business.” Even though Nicholls had one of the lowest budgets in the nation, he did an amazing job as head coach there. It is a testament to his effort and drive that he has won two of the previous three Southland Conference regular season championships. Austin is a talented young guy who will be a huge asset to our program. He is not just a dedicated recruiter who will assist us in game preparation, but he is also a wonderful person who will forge strong bonds with our players and make a positive contribution to our community. Steve Henson, the head coach at UTSA for eight years, recently left the program, and Claunch will take over. Since 2011, the Roadrunners have not qualified for the NCAA Tournament.