Following-up on something that I first reported last night (D3 DIRT). Josh Clemens has officially been named as the head men’s basketball coach at Allegheny College. Here’s the release from the school:
Allegheny College Director of Athletics and Recreation Bill Ross announced on Monday that Josh Clemens has been elevated to the position of head men’s basketball coach for the 2023-24 season following the resignation of Bob Simmons.
Simmons, who spent the past eight years leading the Gators, has stepped down to accept a basketball operations position at IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
Clemens joined the Allegheny community this summer after a lengthy tenure at Paul Smith’s College, located in New York’s scenic Adirondack State Park. He spent a decade with the Bobcats as a student-athlete, assistant, and head coach of the men’s basketball team.
“I want to thank Bob Simmons not only for his efforts in elevating our men’s basketball program back to its winning tradition, but also for his dedication to the College, the Meadville community, and our alumni base,” Ross said. “We wish him and his family all the best in Bradenton.
“We are fortunate to have a quality coach in Josh Clemens to seamlessly lead our men’s basketball team through the 2023-24 season.”
As members of the Yankee Small College Conference (YSCC) and United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA), the Bobcats reached the playoffs in three of Clemens’ four years as head coach. Paul Smith’s ranked as high as No. 13 in the USCAA Division II Coaches Poll in 2021-22, and in his final season, Clemens guided the Bobcats to an upset over No. 2-seeded New Hampshire Technical Institute (NHTI) to advance to the YSCC semifinals. Over the past two years, Clemens has coached three YSCC All-Conference selections and two USCAA All-Americans, as well as the USCAA Division II Men’s Basketball Student-Athlete of the Year.
A double major at Paul Smith’s, Clemens graduated with degrees in entrepreneurship and natural resources management and policy in 2017. He completed his master’s in education with a concentration in athletics administration from William Woods University in 2021.
In 2023-24, the Gators will embark on their second season since returning to the Presidents’ Athletic Conference (PAC). Last year, Allegheny experienced one of the most successful seasons in recent memory, as the Gators amassed 20 wins, hosted the PAC championship game, and advanced to the semifinals of the Eastern College Athletic Conference (ECAC) Division III Championship. Three student-athletes garnered All-PAC recognition, including returning letter winners Andre Wilder (Beaver Falls, Pa./Lincoln Park) and Luke Barker (New Castle, Pa./Struthers (Ohio)), who fueled an offense that led all PAC teams and ranked 25th nationally in scoring. Recent graduate Caden Hinckley ’23 (Boise, Idaho/Mt. Lebanon (Pa.)), the 2022-23 PAC Defensive Player of the Year and ECAC Player of the Year, also made news this summer by signing to continue his career professionally in Italy.
