In addition to a roster that needs to be restocked, Alabama men’s basketball coach Nate Oats also has to fill three assistant coach vacancies. The latter process started on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide is on track to name Nicholls State head coach Austin Claunch as an assistant. The news was reported by multiple outlets, first by Sports Illustrated’s Kevin Sweeney. The hire comes one day after Antoine Pettway became the third coach on Oats’ bench to accept a head coaching gig when he left for Kennesaw State. Bryan Hodgson went to Arkansas State and Charlie Henry was hired by Georgia Southern.

Claunch, 33, is from Houston, Texas. His career started at George Mason as a director of player development. He then spent 2013-2016 at Clemson, where Claunch received his master’s degree and was elevated from graduate manager to assistant video services director. He joined Richie Riley’s staff at Nicholls State in 2018 and coordinated strategy and guard development, according to Claunch’s team bio.

On March 29, 2018, Claunch became the youngest head coach in Division I. In five seasons, Claunch led Nicholls to a 90-61 record. He won two conference regular-season titles and was named conference coach of the year in 2020.

In last season’s historic run to the Sweet 16 — which ended with an upset loss to eventual runner-up San Diego State — Henry was known as the defacto defensive coordinator. Hodgson was a lead recruiter in arguably the best recruiting class in program history between projected first-round picks Brandon Miller and Noah Clowney. Pettway helped Oats’ fast-paced offense and had been on Alabama’s staff since 2008.

Claunch had signed a two-year extension from Nicholls last June, according to HoumaToday, making Clauch under contract through 2024. His base salary was $130,000. Hodgson, for reference, was paid $425,000 this past season.

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Nick Alvarez is a reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter @nick_a_alvarez or email him at [email protected].