Clemson's Brad Brownell Comments On Indiana Basketball Job Opening

As Clemson prepares for an ACC Tournament game Thursday as the No. 3 seed, its coach has come up on various lists as a candidate for the Indiana job.

Brad Brownell is in the midst of his winningest season in 15 years at Clemson, tying the all-time program record with 26 wins, previously set in 1990. The Tigers also went 18-2 in ACC play, shattering the previous program record of 14 conference wins in a season, set by Brownell in 2023.

Brownell, 56, has a 291-194 (.600) overall record and a 146-128 (.533) mark in ACC play in his Clemson career. In 2024, he guided the Tigers to the Elite Eight for the second time in program history and first time since 1980 as a No. 6 seed.

Under Brownell, Clemson has reached the NCAA Tournament four times, and it is projected to earn a No. 4 seed in this year's big dance. Brownell also led Clemson to the Sweet 16 in 2018 and Round of 64 appearances in 2011 and 2021. The current run will mark Brownell's first back-to-back NCAA Tournament appearances with Clemson.

During a press conference on Wednesday, Brownell commented on his name being mentioned in Indiana's coaching search. Indiana announced on Feb. 7 that coach Mike Woodson will step down after the season.

"Yeah, I'm not going to talk about potential jobs," Brownell said. "I have a great job, and I'm 100% focused on this team and what we got ahead of us and trying to do everything I can to help us continue to win the next game."

A reporter followed up by asking Brownell if it felt weird to see his name come up as a potential candidate.

"No, I mean, you're grateful that you're doing good things, right?" Brownell said. "That's what's going to happen if you're doing the right things and winning enough games. So I've never been a self promoter, and that's partly because of how much I really like Clemson. I mean, obviously I sent both daughters here, and I've been here 15 years. So I think this place is really a special place, and I'm proud of what we built."

Watch Brownell's full Wednesday press conference below.

Brownell was previously the head coach at Wright State from 2006-10, where he went 84-45 with four top-three conference finishes, once Horizon League title and an NCAA Tournament appearance. His first head coaching job was at UNC Wilmington from 2002-06, where he won two conference titles, reached the NCAA Tournament twice and went 83-40 across four seasons.

Brownell also has ties to the state of Indiana as an assistant coach at the University of Indianapolis from 1992-94 and at Evansville from 1991-92. He also played at DePauw University from 1988-91, and was teammates with Hoosier legend Calbert Cheaney at William Henry Harrison High School in Evansville, Ind.

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