Clemson officially hires 3 new basketball assistant coaches. Here’s who
Clemson men’s basketball coach Brad Brownell moved quickly to fill three open jobs on his staff last week. Now, those hires are official.
New basketball assistants Chad Warner (Minnesota) and Chris Harriman (Charleston) had their contracts formally approved by the university’s board of trustees Monday. Clemson also hired assistant Andre Morgan (Cincinnati).
Warner and Harriman will both make $400,000 annually on two-year contracts through 2028, according to contracts unanimously approved by the Clemson University Board of Trustees compensation committee.
Morgan’s hiring didn’t require board approval because his salary didn’t meet the threshold. He will make $325,000 annually through 2028.
On top of hiring Warner, Harriman and Morgan, Clemson also approved a raise and contract extension for returning assistant coach Sean Dixon. Dixon will now make $400,000 annually and had his deal extended through 2028.
It’s been a busy month off the court for Brownell and Clemson. News broke before the 2026 NCAA Tournament that associate head coach Billy Donlon had accepted the Eastern Michigan coaching job. After the season, longtime assistant Dick Bender retired and special assistant Jeff Reynolds stepped away from basketball.
Warner and Harriman will replace Donlon and Bender as assistant coaches, while Morgan will take an assistant coach title and also assume Reynolds’ role as a quality control/support staff coach.
Clemson athletic director Graham Neff presented all three contracts for approval Monday and said he was “very pleased” with Brownell’s hiring decisions.
Notably, Brownell’s staff is now at full capacity heading into the 2026 NCAA transfer portal window for men’s basketball. The portal opens April 7, the day after the men’s national championship game, and will stay open for two weeks through April 21.
Clemson is coming off a fourth straight 20-win season and a third straight NCAA Tournament appearance. As of Monday, the Tigers are set to lose six players to either graduation or the portal (all of whom started games last year) and return 11.
Here’s a bit more about each new coach:
Assistant coach Chad Warner
Warner joins Clemson from Minnesota, where he was an assistant under first-year coach Niko Medved last year in the Big Ten. Before that, he spent three seasons working for Bob Richey at Furman, the successful mid-major based in Greenville.
Warner logged 13 seasons as head coach in the NAIA, coaching at Shorter University in Georgia and Flagler College in Florida. He is a 1998 Georgia alum and was a walk-on basketball player and grad assistant for the SEC Bulldogs.
Of Brownell’s three new hires, Warner is the only one who left a school with a sitting head coach to join Clemson.
His $400,000 annual salary is below Donlon’s last salary at Clemson (who made $530,000 as Brownell’s associate head coach) but above Bender’s ($320,000).
“Chad is an excellent teacher and will help me develop an offensive identity for this team,” Brownell said in a news release Monday.
Assistant coach Chris Harriman
Harriman was most recently at Charleston, where he helped coach Chris Mack win 45 games over two seasons in the CAA and was seeking a new role after Mack accepted the coaching job at USF on March 25.
Harriman also has worked at schools including St. Louis, New Mexico, Cal and Nebraska. He’s well regarded in college basketball circles for his international recruiting connections and knowledge.
A native of Australia, Harriman also played pro basketball in the country.
Like Warner, Harriman will make less than what Donlon made but more than Bender made at Clemson. Dixon, who’s been on staff since 2022, got a $25,000 raise and now makes the same amount as Warner and Harriman.
““I’ve been friends with Chris for a long time and have admired his work at several different places,” Brownell said, adding that he has “elite recruiting prowess.”
Assistant coach/director of quality control Andre Morgan
Morgan was most recently at Cincinnati and needed a new job after the school fired head coach Wes Miller. Morgan had worked at UC since 2021 and also worked for Miller at UNC-Greensboro and had a stint at Middle Tennessee State.
Clemson’s last men’s basketball quality control director (Reynolds) made $155,335.80, per public salary records. Morgan’s salary ($325,000) is likely higher because he has an assistant coach title as well as a QC director title.
Morgan played in college at Kennesaw State and North Georgia.
Brownell described Morgan as an “energetic young coach with a positive personality” and said he’ll be heavily involved in player development.
This story was originally published March 30, 2026 at 9:01 AM with the headline "Clemson officially hires 3 new basketball assistant coaches. Here’s who."
