Clemson Head Coach Brad Brownell Receives National Award Attention For Strong Season

Clemson basketball head coach Brad Brownell had a difficult task at the beginning of this season, and now he’s being recognized for it.

On Friday, Brownell was one of 15 coaches named to the Naismith Coach of the Year Watch List, awarded to the top head coach in college basketball for that given season. He has his Tigers at a 20-7 record that is tied for fourth in the ACC thus far.

Our guy is on the Naismith Coach of the Year Watch List 👏 pic.twitter.com/DE7OHym9IJ
— Clemson Basketball (@ClemsonMBB) February 20, 2026

The honor comes from the roster that Brownell built during this past offseason. His only player that returned with production was guard Dillon Hunter, and he’s been able to form a group that’s one of the best defenses in the country, winning games against top opponents.

Brownell credits the relationships that he’s been able to build with his players, especially this season, which helped lead to the chemistry.

“We really try to pride ourselves here on building relationships, meaningful relationships, with our players,” he said on Monday during the ACC teleconference. Whether you coach them for one year, four years, I’m going to be committed to my guys if I coach you.”

Clemson is 17th in points allowed per game at 65.4 points per game, which is also second-best in the ACC behind the Duke Blue Devils. The Tigers have been able to put long scoring droughts on teams like Alabama, BYU and SMU, all high-powered offenses, through turnovers and highly contested shots. Brownell’s team is also 31st in defensive efficiency.

When Clemson wins, it’s through its bench and plenty of different players. The Tigers are 26th in bench points at 30.85 a contest, getting strong efforts nearly each game from the likes of Ace Buckner and Nick Davidson, among others.

Bronwell is one of three ACC coaches to receive a nod. Duke's Jon Scheyer and Virginia's Ryan Odom have also been named to the list. The Clemson head coach is put on a list with plenty of coaches with top 10 teams, significant to how he's been able to coach his group.

Despite the Tigers currently being on a three-game losing streak, the head coach will have four more games to bring back a spark before heading into the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, where the team is currently a No. 8, according to ESPN’s Joe Lunardi.

While a skid this late could be alarming, Brownell continues to bring encouragement to his group, looking to take back the season that saw Clemson tied for first in the ACC last week.

“We’ve played a lot of really good teams,” he said. “We found ways to win some games, and we haven’t played our best some games. We’ve played extremely well, beaten all different kinds of teams in different places.

Now, we’re down to a five-game regular season. Let’s just all get connected here and give it our best shot.”

That spark will look to be recharged on Saturday afternoon, when the Tigers host Florida State at noon from Littlejohn Coliseum.