Lindsey Wilson University

Rodney Clarke, a Mobile, Alabama native, is in his third season as lead assistant for Blue Raiders men’s basketball, specializing in team defense.

During the 2025-26 season he helped guide Lindsey Wilson to the program’s first NAIA national tournament appearance since 2018.

Clarke previously served  as an assistant coach at the University of Arkansas at Monticello during the 2023-24 school year. In 2018-19, he acted as an assistant coach at Alabama's Talladega College, helping the Tornadoes to a 24-7 record and the second seed in the Gulf Coast Athletic Conference tournament. Clarke has also collected assistant coaching experience from Lake Superior State (Mich.) and Cumberlands (Ky.).

While at the Cumberlands, Clarke was instrumental in the Patriots making a 2016 NAIA Elite Eight, along with earning two NAIA National Tournament Sweet 16 appearances. During his four seasons at the Cumberlands, the program qualified for four consecutive national tournaments while registering an 89-44 overall record. He was ranked No. 9 on the Top 25 Assistant Coaches at Small Colleges list by CoachStat.net in 2017. Also, while in D2, he ranked as the 24th-best assistant by CoachStat.net. 

Clarke started his playing career at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, California where he led the team in scoring as a freshman with 15.6 points per game. After one season there, he attended the University of the Cumberlands from 2000-03, where he was a two-year captain. He started every game for three consecutive years, helping the Patriots qualify for the NAIA National Tournament in each of those seasons.

In his coaching career, Clarke has recruited seven all-conference players and one All-American.

He is joined in Columbia by his wife Krystal and son Maverick.