CLEMSON, S.C. — Clemson University men’s basketball Head Coach Brad Brownell has hired Chad Warner as assistant coach, announced by Coach Brownell on Monday. The Clemson Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved the measure.
“I’m excited to welcome Chad and his family to Clemson,” said Brownell. “Chad is an excellent teacher and will help me develop an offensive identity for this team. His experience, coaching philosophy and values align well with our program. I love that Chad has head coaching experience, which will help us navigate this new world of college basketball.”
Warner spent the 2025-26 season on Head Coach Niko Medved’s staff at Minnesota. He spent the previous three seasons at Furman, the first two as an assistant before being promoted to associate head coach prior to the 2024-25 campaign.
Furman finished with a 25-10 overall record in 2024-25, advanced to the Southern Conference Championship title game and competed in the National Invitation Tournament. Warner assisted in leading the 2022-23 Paladins to a school-record 28 victories, highlighted by an 88-79 triumph over Chattanooga in the SoCon Championship game and a 68-67 victory over No. 4 seed Virginia in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament in Orlando, Fla.
Prior to his Furman tenure, Warner spent the previous five seasons as head coach at Flagler College, leading the Saints to a 72-63 record highlighted by an 18-3 mark in 2020-21 and 23-8 in 2021-22. He was also the head coach for eight seasons at Shorter University posting a 156-91 record. In 13 seasons as a head coach, Warner amassed a 228-154 overall record. Warner was the winningest coach in program history at Shorter with 156 victories, including a school-record 34 wins in 2011-12. Shorter advanced to the NAIA Division I “Fab Four” that year and was ranked No. 1 nationally for most of the season. He was named the NABC NAIA Division I National Coach of the Year. At Shorter, he coached six NAIA All-Americans and nine All-Southern States Athletic Conference (SSAC) selections.
He began his collegiate coaching career at his alma mater, Georgia, serving as a graduate assistant under head coach Jim Harrick. Warner graduated from Georgia in 1998 with his bachelor’s degree in journalism. He earned a walk-on spot as a freshman under head coach Hugh Durham. After graduating from Georgia, he was an associate head coach at the Darlington School for four seasons.
Warner and his wife, Karin, have three children: Aly, Caroline, and Jack.