Clevan Thompson enters his second full season as head men’s basketball coach at Savannah State University in 2026-27, continuing to build on a tenure that has already included an SIAC championship and an appearance in the NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament.
Thompson completed his first full season at the helm in 2025-26, leading the Tigers through another competitive SIAC campaign and back into postseason play. Savannah State closed the regular season by winning five of its final seven games, including an impressive 86-75 road victory over Miles and a 61-59 Senior Night victory over Lane at Tiger Arena.
The Tigers carried that momentum into the 2026 SIAC Men's Basketball Championship. Savannah State opened tournament play with an 81-79 victory over Kentucky State at Tiger Arena before advancing to the quarterfinal round, where the Tigers' bid to repeat as conference champions ended with a narrow 48-47 loss to Miles.
The 2025-26 campaign marked Thompson's first full season leading the program after an impressive start to his head coaching career the previous year.
Thompson was officially named the 12th head coach in Savannah State men’s basketball history on June 6, 2025, after serving as interim head coach during the second half of the 2024-25 season. He assumed leadership of the program on January 6, 2025, following the midseason retirement of longtime head coach Horace Broadnax.
Taking over in the middle of the season, Thompson quickly put his stamp on the program. Savannah State posted a 13-6 record under his direction to close the 2024-25 campaign, including a perfect 7-0 mark at home.
The Tigers saved their best basketball for the postseason.
Entering the 2025 SIAC Men's Basketball Championship as the No. 5 seed from the East Division, Savannah State put together one of the program's most memorable postseason runs. The Tigers defeated Spring Hill, 79-74, before knocking off West Division regular-season champion Miles, 63-61, and Central State, 53-48, to advance to the championship game.
What made the run even more impressive was Savannah State's ability to reverse its fortunes against teams that had defeated the Tigers during the regular season. Spring Hill, Miles, Central State and Tuskegee had each beaten Savannah State earlier in the year before the Tigers defeated all four during their championship run.
In the title contest, Thompson guided Savannah State to a thrilling 67-66 victory over Tuskegee, capturing the program's sixth SIAC championship. Javonte Landy broke a 66-66 tie by making the game-winning free throw with two seconds remaining.
The victory extended Savannah State's winning streak to eight games and improved the Tigers to 18-11, giving the program its highest win total since the 2012-13 season. The championship was Savannah State's second in four seasons after the Tigers also claimed the conference crown in 2022.
Savannah State's tournament run also produced several individual honors. The Tigers' Marcus King was named the SIAC Tournament Most Valuable Player after finishing the championship game with 19 points and eight rebounds, while Landy and Ayjay Plain earned spots on the All-Tournament Team.
The championship earned Savannah State the SIAC's automatic berth in the 2025 NCAA Division II Men's Basketball Tournament. The Tigers faced nationally prominent Nova Southeastern in the opening round of the NCAA South Regional, falling 76-64 to conclude Thompson's first season leading the program.
Thompson's elevation to head coach continued a relationship with Savannah State that began decades earlier. He returned to his alma mater prior to the 2023-24 season when he joined Broadnax's staff as the program's lead assistant coach.
Before returning to "The Marsh," Thompson established himself as one of the Savannah area's most successful high school basketball coaches during a nearly two-decade coaching career.
From 2009-22, Thompson served as the head boys' basketball coach at nearby Bethesda Academy, where he led the Blazers through the most successful period in program history. Under his leadership, Bethesda amassed 265 victories, made 12 Final Four appearances and advanced to six state championship games.
Thompson guided the Blazers to two state championships, capturing the 2012 Georgia Independent School Association (GISA) state title before winning the 2015 South Carolina Independent School Association (SCISA) Class AAA championship. His sustained success at Bethesda established Thompson as a respected coach and program builder throughout the region.
A native of Kingston, Jamaica, Thompson also spent part of his upbringing in South Florida before eventually making Savannah home.
Thompson is no stranger to Savannah State or the tradition of Tiger Athletics. A 2003 graduate of Savannah State, he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Information Systems and was a football student-athlete for the Tigers.
More than two decades after representing Savannah State as a student-athlete, Thompson now leads the University's men's basketball program, bringing championship experience, deep ties to the Savannah community and a proven record of developing winning programs.
