Clay Conner enters his third season on the Penn State basketball staff and first as assistant coach in 2025-26. He previously served as the director of player development for the Nittany Lions from 2023-25

Conner came to Happy Valley from VCU where he served as the director of player development during the 2022-23 season following a two-year stint as a graduate assistant with the Rams. Conner played a vital role in VCU’s 2023 NCAA Tournament appearance and Atlantic 10 regular-season and tournament championships. Conner helped develop three all-conference players including A-10 Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year Adrian “Ace” Baldwin Jr during the 2022-23 season. Conner was also on staff as a graduate assistant at VCU for a pair of postseason appearances in 2021 and 2022, including an NCAA Tournament berth in 2021.

Prior to his time at VCU, Conner was a four-year standout player at Shippensburg. The Mount Airy, Maryland native helped lead Shippensburg to a 2018 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 appearances and the Raiders’ first conference championship in program history in 2017. He graduated as Shippensburg’s career leader in free throw percentage.

Conner earned a master’s degree in sport leadership from VCU in 2022 and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Shippensburg in 2018. 

https://gopsusports.com/sports/mens-basketball/roster/season/2006-07/staff/clay-conner