HIGH POINT, N.C. — High Point University Women's Basketball Head Coach Chelsea Banbury announced the hiring of
Katie Clayman, formerly Katie
Gruys, as the Panthers' newest assistant coach in the summer of 2023.
"I am so grateful and humbled to join Coach Banbury and her great staff," Clayman said. "They've done a tremendous job establishing the program on and off the court. I am excited to help them continue to build on the success they've had and compete for Big South Championships. Since the moment I stepped on campus, it was obvious how special High Point University is."
Clayman comes to High Point after a four-year stint at Southern Utah University, where she joined the Thunderbirds as an assistant coach in 2019 before being promoted to associate head coach in July of 2020. During her tenure, she was monumental in helping SUU reach three consecutive winning seasons for the first time since the program did in 1993-96. In 2022-23, the Thunderbirds were crowned WAC regular-season champions and earned their first-ever trip to the NCAA Tournament against No. 14
Notre Dame.
In her first season on staff, Clayman helped lead Southern Utah to an 18-13 record, posting its first winning season and best home-court record (12-3) since 2013-14. On top of her assistant coach efforts, she was the team's academic advisor as the Thunderbirds finished top five in the entire country for team GPA. Additionally, she was key in the recruitment and development of All-Big Sky members
Cherita Daugherty,
Daylani Ballena, Lizzy Williamson, and Defensive Player of the Year Rebecca Cardenas, among others.
"We are so excited to be able to add someone with so much experience and knowledge of the game to our staff," Banbury said. "Katie brings an energy about the game that I'm really looking forward to working with. On and off the court!"
Before heading to Southern Utah, Clayman spent the previous two seasons as an assistant coach at Willamette University, a Division III institution in Oregon. During her time at WU, the Bearcats had a combined record of 28-24, including a 17-10 record in 2017-18. They would go on to finish that season as the runner-up in the Northwest Conference Tournament and clinch their first winning season since 2000-01. Clayman also served as the head coach for the Willamette Valley Basketball 16U Club in the spring of 2019.
The former
Gruys spent 2016-17 as a graduate assistant at Clemson University, where she was in charge of many administrative duties for the women's basketball team. She helped with scheduling and team travel, as well as community service projects and recruiting weekends.
Prior to attending Clemson as a graduate student, Clayman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Oregon in 2016. She competed in women's basketball as well as track and field during all four years at Oregon. She helped the Ducks reach the semifinals of the Women's National Invitational Tournament (
WNIT) in 2015-16.
While at Oregon, Clayman also was a member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee. She helped organize various volunteer and community service opportunities. She worked with 20 other student-athletes to build a sport court in Nicaragua in just one week. In addition, Clayman served as president of the University of Oregon crew in the Love Your Melon Foundation from 2014-16. Love Your Melon raised funds to support children and their families who are battling cancer. She also organized opportunities for Oregon's student-athletes to visit
Doernbecher Children's Hospital in Portland, Oregon.
Clayman is originally from Annandale, Minnesota. She resides in High Point with her husband, Flynn Clayman.
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