Story Courtesy: Jeremy Hartigan, Cornell Senior Associate Director of Athletics for Communications
Jon Jaques ’10, the Robert E. Gallagher ’44 Head Coach of Cornell Men’s Basketball, announced today the addition of Clay Wilson as Associate Head Coach. Wilson returns to Cornell after previously serving on staff as an assistant from 2019-21, bringing with him experience from stops at Hawai’i, Pacific, Texas Tech and North Texas.
“I am thrilled to welcome Clay and his wife Liz back to Cornell,” Jaques said. “Clay’s talent, spirit and work ethic played massive roles in laying the foundation for our recent success, so to have him rejoin our staff and continue to elevate the program is especially exciting. The success and growth of the players and programs he’s worked with in-between demonstrates he has become one of the bright young coaches in our sport. I can’t wait for him to develop impactful relationships with our players, on and off the court”
Wilson arrives in Ithaca after spending the 2025-26 season as an assistant at Hawai’i, where he helped guide the Rainbow Warriors to a 24-9 record and a Big West Conference tournament championship, punching the program’s ticket to the NCAA Tournament. That capped a run of five years on staffs that reached the postseason in six seasons, including three NCAA Tournaments and an NIT title.
“My wife and I are incredibly grateful and humbled for the opportunity to return to Cornell,” Wilson said. “This university has meant so much to me, and it’s an honor to come back and help build on the tradition and culture that make Cornell so special. I’m especially thankful to Coach Jon Jaques for the opportunity to work alongside him again. I’m looking forward to working alongside our staff and student-athletes every day, helping our players grow on and off the court while pursuing championships. I believe the best days for Cornell Basketball are still ahead, and I’m honored to help make that vision a reality. I can’t wait to get to work.”
Prior to Hawai’i, Wilson spent the 2024-25 season at Pacific and served as Director of Player Development at Texas Tech in 2023-24, helping the Red Raiders climb to No. 15 nationally with six wins over ranked opponents – Texas A&M, Texas, BYU, Oklahoma, Kansas and Baylor – in the Big 12, en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance.
Before that, Wilson spent two seasons (2021-23) as a graduate assistant at North Texas, where the Mean Green won 56 games, claimed the Conference USA regular-season title, reached the NIT second round in 2021-22 and capped a 31-7 campaign in 2022-23 with a CUSA championship and NIT title.
Wilson’s Cornell ties date back to July 2019, when he first joined the Big Red staff after four seasons at Ivy rival Princeton. During his initial stint in Ithaca, he helped develop All-Ivy guard Terrance McBride and second-team CoSIDA Academic All-American Jimmy Boeheim, and later helped recruit and develop numerous all-conference players, including the program’s first NBA player in 15 years, Chris Manon.
A four-year letterwinner and team captain at Princeton (2011-15), Wilson helped the Tigers to 74 wins and a pair of postseason appearances in 2012 and 2014, earning the program’s Bob Rock Sixth Man of the Year award as a senior. Following his collegiate career, he played professionally for four seasons in Germany, New Zealand, Latvia and Estonia, while also co-founding Elev8hoops, one of the largest skill development programs in the South, and serving as head coach at Green Country HS in Oklahoma.
A native of Tulsa, Okla., Wilson earned his bachelor’s degree in Sociology from Princeton in 2015 and an MBA in Sport Entertainment Management from North T
