Clint Sargent was named the 10th men's basketball head coach in program history on March 29, 2024 after originally joining the Wright State coaching staff in 2016. Sargent served as the associate head coach the last three seasons prior to his promotion.
"Clint Sargent is everything we look for in our head coaches," director of athletics Joylynn Brown said at the time of his promotion. "His passion, his character and his excitement to lead our student-athletes – along with his knowledge of our program and what it takes to win in the Horizon League – are all evident. Coach Sargent is an incredible individual and there is no better role model for our student-athletes."
"Clint reflects the values of our Raider Family," Wright State University President Sue Edwards added. "He demonstrates a passion for winning both on and off the court and exemplifies the Person First – Student Second – Athlete Third (PSA) culture that serves as the foundation of our Division of Athletics."
In his first season as head man in 2024-25, Sargent was named a finalist for the Joe B. Hall award as Wright State finished with the No. 6 field goal percentage in the country (49.4 percent), was 11th nationally in effective field goal percentage (56.6 percent) and was No. 12 nationally in three-point percentage (38.4 percent). The Raiders won 11 games inside the Nutter Center, including the inaugural Stars, Stripes and Flight Classic over Air Force. Sargent's first-year Raider résumé also included non-conference wins over Miami (OH), Princeton and Marshall. The November win at Miami (OH) was the only home loss for Miami (OH) all season, while the Raiders also tallied a win over Horizon League regular season and tournament champion Robert Morris, one of just five HL losses for RMU. A pair of players earned Horizon League honors, with Brandon Noel grabbing second team recognition and Solomon Callaghan named to the all-freshman team, while the pair was also named to the 2024-25 HL Men's Basketball All-Academic Team.
Since Sargent's arrival at Wright State ahead of the 2016-17 season, the Raiders have won a combined five Horizon League championships between regular season and tournament titles, including trips to the NCAA Tournament in 2018 and 2022. Wright State captured its first win in its NCAA Division I history in the 2022 tournament with a First Four victory over Bryant. Sargent has been heavily involved in the recruiting and development of Raider players during his time at Wright State. Wright State has had 26 all-Horizon League performers between all-conference, all-defensive and newcomer teams since 2016, in addition to Loudon Love's back-to-back Horizon League Player of the Year seasons and Brandon Noel's Freshman of the Year recognition following the 2022-23 campaign. The Raiders have also achieved in the classroom, with nine Horizon League all-academic team recognitions from 2016-2023.
A standout player at South Dakota State, Sargent was a two-time All-Summit League selection and remains inside the top 10 in total points scored, three-pointers made, total starts and minutes played under former Wright State head coach Scott Nagy. A two-time All-Summit League Second Team selection, Sargent began his coaching career with South Dakota State head of the 2013-14 season as the team's operations coordinator after playing professionally for two seasons with USC Heidelberg in the German ProA League. Before joining the Jackrabbits, the South Sioux City, Neb., native scored 1,079 points at Bishop Heelan High School, earning first-team all-conference, first-team all-district, first-team all-metro, first-team all-northwest Iowa and first-team all-state in basketball in both his junior and senior years and all-metro quarterback as a junior and senior.
Sargent and his wife, former Jackrabbit women’s basketball standout Jill Young, live in the Dayton area with their daughter, Gracie, and sons, CJ, Jordy and Landry.
