Greg Clink is in his 17th year as the head coach of the Chico State men’s basketball program. Since taking the reins of the program he played for and served as an assistant coach, Clink established Chico State as one of the premier Division II programs in the nation, leading the ’Cats to 12 postseason appearances—including eight NCAA Championship Tournament berths—while claiming three NCAA West Region titles and three California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) regular-season championships.
Clink enters the 2024–25 season with a career 285-154 record in his 16 years at the helm of the Wildcat men's basketball program, and over the last 12 seasons of competition his teams have gone 225-104 for an impressive .684 winning percentage.
Under Clink’s tutelage, several Chico State men’s basketball players have earned individual recognition, collecting a combined 48 postseason conference awards, 11 All-West Region selections and four All-America honors. Clink himself has been named the CCAA Coach of the Year three times, winning the award in 2011–12 and in the 2014–15 and 2015–16 seasons.
Clink's 16th season at the helm saw the Wildcats win 21 games and reach the NCAA West Regional final. It was the ninth time in the Clink era that the Wildcats had won 20 games in a season.
The 2022-23 season saw the Wildcats go 13-16, notching a sixth place conference finish and the program’s 11th CCAA Tournament berth in the last 12 seasons. Guard Jojo Murphy was a first-team All-CCAA selection and was named the conference’s Freshman of the Year, while Joshua Hamilton and Kelvin Wright Jr. earned All-CCAA honorable mentions.
After sitting out the entire 2020–21 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Clink led Chico State to its third NCAA West Region title in the last seven full seasons in 2021–22, as the Wildcats posted a 22-5 record to finish second in the CCAA and reach the NCAA Championship Tournament for the eighth time since 2011. Entering the West Regionals as the No. 3 seed, the ’Cats swept past Academy of Art, Cal State San Bernardino, and Alaska Fairbanks to win the West and advance to the Elite Eight in Evansville, Indiana. Chico State finished the 2021–22 season ranked No. 6 in the nation. Malik Duffy was named the CCAA and West Region Player of the Year, and was an All-America selection by both the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) and the Division II Conference Commissioner’s Association.
Clink guided the Wildcats to a 23-7 record in 2019–20 and a share of second place in the CCAA standings. Ranked fourth in the West Region, the ’Cats reached the semifinals of the CCAA Tournament, and were preparing for their first round NCAA Championship Tournament game when the season was abruptly ended by the coronavirus pandemic.
In an injury-riddled season that also saw the team’s entire pre-conference schedule cancelled due to Paradise’s devastating
Camp Fire, Clink steered the Wildcats to a 9-14 record in 2018–19. The season did include a personal highlight for Clink—on December 19, 2018, Clink recorded his 200th career Chico State coaching victory as the Wildcats defeated Dominican 74-61.
Clink led the Wildcats to a 20-8 record and second place CCAA finish in 2017–18, extending the program’s streak of consecutive postseason appearances to seven. The ’Cats posted the seventh-best defense among all Division II schools, holding opponents to just 64.5 points a game. Seniors Jalen McFerren, Isaiah Ellis, and Corey Silverstrom all earned All-CCAA honors and eclipsed the 1,000-point career plateau that season—a feat only 16 Wildcats had ever previously accomplished, and never three teammates in the same season.
On the strength of a 26-8 record (the most single season wins in the 108-year history of the men’s basketball program), the Wildcats reached the NCAA Championship Tournament Elite 8 for the second time in four years in 2016–17. Clink’s squad swept its way to the West Region title with wins over nationally-ranked Western Washington, Hawaii Pacific and UC San Diego to earn a trip to Sioux Falls, South Dakota to compete for the national crown.
Clink guided Chico State to a 22-7 record in 2015–16, topping the CCAA standings for the second straight season and earning the program’s fifth consecutive NCAA Championship Tournament appearance. The Wildcats posted the fifth-best defense in Division II (holding opponents to just 64.9 points a game), and finished the year ranked 20th in the final NABC national poll.
The Clink-led ’Cats recorded a 22-8 record in 2014–15, winning 14 of their final 15 games to capture the CCAA championship. In postseason play, Chico State reached the CCAA Tournament final before making its fourth consecutive NCAA Championship Tournament appearance. The Wildcats’ defense held opposing teams to an average of just 60.7 points a game in 2014-15, ranking fourth in the nation.
The 2013–14 season was one of the most exciting and successful in Chico State history. Clink piloted the Wildcats to a 25-8 record and a third place finish in the CCAA. But it was in postseason play that the ’Cats really shined—after reaching the finals of the CCAA Tournament, the Wildcats won three straight to claim the NCAA West Regional title and advance to the NCAA Championship Tournament Elite 8 for the first time in the program’s history.
Clink posted his 100th career win as Wildcats’ head coach on February 21, 2014, when Chico State topped Cal State Monterey Bay 87-80.
Clink’s 2012–13 Chico State squad notched a 19-11 overall record, and thanks to a nine-game winning streak down the stretch, finished third in the conference. The Wildcats reached the CCAA Tournament finals for the second straight year, earning a second consecutive invitation to the NCAA Championship Tournament.
The 2011–12 season was a truly memorable one for Clink and the Wildcats. Chico State finished 25-8 and hoisted the program’s first conference championship banner since 1994. The ’Cats went on to play in the CCAA Tournament final and reach the NCAA Championship Tournament for the first time since 2005. Chico State topped off its incredible season by logging the program’s first NCAA tournament victory in over 50 years.
Clink led Chico State to a 14-13 record in 2010–11, as the team made its second consecutive CCAA Tournament appearance. Clink’s 2009–10 Wildcats posted a 16-13 record, doubling the team’s win output from the previous year and delivering the program’s first winning season since 2004–05. Chico State concluded the campaign by notching its first-ever conference tournament victory.
In his first year at the helm, Clink installed a gritty, fast-paced style of play and guided the ’Cats to an 8-19 record in 2008–09—the most wins posted by a Wildcats squad in three years. Chico State was much more competitive than its record indicated, taking opponents to overtime four times and losing five games by four points or less.
The 11th head coach in the history of Chico State men’s basketball, Clink was no stranger to the Wildcats’ program when he replaced 21-year coaching legend Puck Smith. Playing under Smith, Clink was part of three Chico State conference title teams from 1992–94, earning a trip to the NCAA Championship Tournament West Regional in 1992–93, and named the team’s Most Inspirational Player during his senior year. Clink remained with the Wildcats as an assistant coach under Smith during the 1994–95 and 1995–96 seasons.
Clink joined the UC Davis coaching staff for the 1996–97 season as an assistant to Bob Williams. The Aggies finished 20-9 that year, winning the Northern California Athletic Conference crown and advancing to the NCAA Championship Tournament. After spending the 1997–98 season as head coach at Gavilan Community College (where he played his first two years of college ball), Clink rejoined Williams’ staff when the former Aggie boss was named head coach at UC Santa Barbara.
Clink began his second stint as an assistant coach at UC Davis in 2000, playing a big part in the program’s recruiting, scouting, and player development efforts as the Aggies made the challenging transition from Division II to Division I. Clink remained part of the UC Davis coaching staff (becoming the Aggies’ associate head coach in 2006) until he was hired to take over the Chico State men’s basketball program in April, 2008.
A 1994 Chico State graduate, Clink received a bachelor’s degree in physical education. He earned his master’s degree in physical education at Chico State in 2000.
Clink and his wife, Courtney, were married in the summer of 2002. The couple has three sons: twins Justin and Tyler, and younger brother Ryan. Ryan enrolled into the Cal Poly wrestling program in the fall 2024 season.
