Anderson Clarke joined the High Point staff in May of 2025 after spending seven seasons with the Montana University men’s basketball program.
Clarke was a part of HPU’s 2026 NCAA Tournament run. As the 12-seed, HPU made history with its first-ever tournament win, with an upset over No. 5 seed Wisconsin, 83-82 to make the Round of 32. The Panthers hoisted the Big South championship trophy and cut down the nets for the second time in program history and become the first Big South team to win back-to-back tournament championships since Winthrop from 2019-21. HPU finished the season with a Big South and program record, 31-5, breaking the program and conference record of 29 wins set by High Point last season and Winthrop in 2006-07. The Panthers collected their third straight Big South Regular-Season title and No. 1 seed entering the Big South Tournament after setting a new program record in league play going 15-1.
Clarke played an intricate role in the Panthers offense. In KenPom rankings, the Panthers ranked 10th in raw offense with a 120.7 rating, behind Vanderbilt and Florida. Throughout the 2025-26 season, High Point performed in the top 25 in national statistical categories finishing out the regular-season as 1st in steals per game (10.9), 1st in scoring margin (19.7), 4th in assist/turnover ratio (1.74), 3rd in free throws made (19.9), 3rd in scoring offense (90.0), 3rd in fastbreak points (18.88), 19th in effective field goal percentage (56.6%), and 20th in field goal percentage (49.1%).
High Point finished the season 3rd in the CollegeInsider Mid-Major Top 25 poll -- highest placement in program history -- and have been in the poll for 56 consecutive weeks making for the longest streak in Big South program history. HPU also ranked in the Field of 68 mid-major rankings, finishing 7th at the end of the season. In the final weeks of the season, High Point was receiving votes in the Associate Press poll and received as many as 14 votes on March 15, the most ever by a Panthers team.
Prior to HPU, Clarke was an assistant coach for two seasons at Montana, the director of operations for two seasons and a graduate manager for his first three seasons.
He served as Montana’s first director of operations since 2017, but filled much of those roles during his first three seasons while he was a graduate manager. In addition to operations duties, such as travel, meals, hotels and more, Clarke also took on the majority of Montana’s scouting and film prep.
During Clarke’s time with the Grizzlies, Montana has posted a winning record each season. The Grizzlies won the 2025 & 2019 Big Sky Conference regular-season and tournament titles while advancing to the NCAA tournament. In 2019-20, they were again a conference-title contender, entering the Big Sky tournament as the No. 3 seed before it was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020-21, Montana found its form late, winning a pair of games in the Big Sky tournament and advancing to the semifinals as the No. 6 seed.
The Grizzlies enjoyed more winning seasons with Clarke's help, winning 18 games in 2021-22 and 17 games in 2022-23.
During the 2024-25 season, the Grizzlies had one of the most efficient offenses in the country, shooting nearly 50 percent on the season to rank 4th in the NCAA. Montana went on one of the best runs of play in the programs recent years, going 14-1 over the final months of the regular season and the Big Sky Tournament. The team finished the year 25-10 overall, reaching the 25-win mark for the 8th time in program history and first time since 2019. The .833 winning percentage was the 7th best in program history. Four players earned All-Big Sky postseason honors.
In 2023-24, the Grizzlies won 24 games and a postseason game for just the second time in program history, reaching the quarterfinals of the CBI. Montana finished tied for second in the conference and reached the Big Sky Championship game. In 2024-25, the Grizzlies posted 25 wins with a Big Sky regular season and tournament title to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Two players earned All-Big Sky honors. The Grizzlies set a program record for both total points (2,768) and free throw percentage (79.2) in 2023-24.
Prior to going to Montana, Clarke played collegiately for Division II Concordia University Irvine. The Eagles went 86-36 during Clarke’s four seasons (2014-15 through 2017-18), with Clarke totaling 15 points, 25 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and one block. He made seven of his nine career shot attempts.
He has helped Montana establish a pipeline to Australia with at least one Australian player on the roster in all but one year during his time.
Clarke is a native of Tasmania, Australia, where he played for Campolindo High School. His father, Marty, formerly served as the associate head coach for St. Mary’s College in California. He is now the technical director of the NBA Global Academy in Canberra, Australia.
Clarke and his wife, Shelby, were married in 2020. They welcomed a son, Booker, in 2023.
He earned his undergraduate degree in communications from Concordia Irvine in 2018, and his master’s in philosophy of educational leadership from Montana in May 2020. He is currently working toward his doctorate in philosophy of educational leadership.
