SAN ANTONIO – Administration at The University of Texas at San Antonio moved quickly to name and claim its newest men’s basketball coach.
The Roadrunners announced Austin Claunch as their new leader of the program on Sunday. Claunch will come to San Antonio after one season as an assistant coach under Nate Oats at Alabama.
Recommended Videos
UTSA fired Steve Henson on Thursday after eight seasons at the helm.
This season, the Crimson Tide finished in a four-way tie for second place with Auburn, Kentucky and South Carolina in the Southeastern Conference regular season standings and is ranked No. 19 in the latest Associated Press Top 25 poll.
After losing to Florida on Friday at the SEC Tournament, Alabama earned a No. 4 seed in the West Region of the 2024 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament and will face the 13th-seeded College of Charleston Cougars in the first round on March 22 in Spokane, Washington.
“I am extremely excited to welcome Austin Claunch as our next head men’s basketball coach,” UTSA vice president for intercollegiate athletics Lisa Campos said in a statement Sunday. “He had great success as the head coach at Nicholls and has gained valuable experience at some of the top programs in the country. He has high energy, a relentless work ethic and a strong basketball IQ. What really stood out to me is that when we talked to people about Austin, what kept coming up time and again was his unique ability to connect with people from all backgrounds and build great relationships. He is completely aligned with my vision and our values as a department and an institution. He will be a terrific leader of our student-athletes and I am confident he will elevate our program to new heights.”
Claunch is no stranger to the Lone Star State. Though he was born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Claunch grew up in Houston. He attended Strake Jesuit College Preparatory on Houston’s southwest side.
Claunch was a three-year starter and a two-time team captain for Strake Jesuit’s Fighting Crusaders.
“This is genuinely a dream come true being from Texas and growing up in this state,” Claunch said in a statement. “I take a lot of pride in being a Texan and knowing the passion of the community as a whole. The potential of the UTSA program really excites me. I think we can be really good for a long time, but I don’t think it will take a long time to be really good. I want to thank Dr. (Taylor) Eighmy, Dr. (Lisa) Campos and the whole administration for this opportunity. I am ready to get to work.”
Hiring Claunch is a stark departure from the university’s previous hiring of Henson.
Henson was attached at the hip with Lon Kruger, who he played for at Kansas State. He also worked for Kruger at Illinois (1999-2000), the Atlanta Hawks (2001-2003), UNLV (2004-2011) and Oklahoma (2011-2016) before he earned his first-ever head coaching position with UTSA at age 48.
Following two years as a graduate assistant at Clemson and two years as an assistant coach at Nicholls State, Claunch was elevated to Nicholls State’s top job at age 29 in 2018. He was the youngest head coach in NCAA Division I when the Colonels began their 2018-19 season.
Claunch, 34, went 90-61 overall and won the Southland Conference regular season title twice in five years.
UTSA went 11-21 overall in 2023-24, its first season as a member of the American Athletic Conference.
More UTSA basketball coverage on KSAT.com