J.B. Clarke was hired July 20, 2021, as the second head coach in UT program history. He previously spent 11 years at the helm of the Limestone men’s lacrosse program following 12 years at Washington College and one season at Greensboro College.

In 2023, the Spartans concluded the regular season second in the conference with an overall record of 13-4 and made a repeated appearance at the NCAA Tournament. Clarke coached several Spartans who brought home All-Conference and All-South Region accolades including Tampa standout, Trejan Cannon. In the postseason, Cannon was selected to participate and play with the South Roster in the USILA Senior All-Star Game, making him the fifth player in program history to be chosen to play in an All-Star Game. 

In his first year, Clarke led the Spartans to new heights as the team earned the nation’s top-ranking while concluding the season undefeated (21-0) and as NCAA Champions for the first time in program history. He coached eight Spartans to All-American status including Matthew Beddow, who received the SSC Male Athlete of the Year, the National Player of the Year, and the National Defensive Player of the Year awards for 2022. Due to this successful campaign, Clarke and assistant coach, Ryan Sullivan, were recognized by the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association as its Coaches of the Year for NCAA Division II. 

Coach Clarke, the 2014 and 2015 USILA Division II Coach of the Year, is the all-time winningest coach in Limestone history, posting his 129^th win in the Blue and Gold with an 11-9 decision over Merrimack in the 2017 NCAA Division II National Championship Game. He has posted a 164-20 (.891) record over his first 10 years in Gaffney and has guided the Saints to three NCAA Division II National Championships (2014, 2015, and 2017) and six national championship game appearances.

He currently holds the highest career winning percentage in program history, winning 89.1-percent of his games at Limestone, and guided the Saints to nine straight Conference Carolinas Regular Season Championships and eight Conference Carolinas Tournament Titles before the program’s final year in the league was cut short due to the COVID-19 pandemic during the 2020 season.

Clarke serves on the NCAA Men’s Lacrosse Committee and is the USILA Scholar All-America Committee DII Chair. He is the President of the Intercollegiate Men’s Lacrosse Association (IMLCA), and has served on the USILA Division III All-America Committee, the USILA National Poll Committee, and the U.S. National Team Selection Committee during his career.

Following the program’s third NCAA Division II National Championship in four years, he was honored with the Order of the Silver Crescent by South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster in 2018. That award is the state’s highest civilian award for significant contributions, leadership, volunteerism, and lifelong influence within a region or community. The Order of the Silver Crescent is an once-in-a-lifetime achievement.

After the team went 11-8 and missed the NCAA playoffs for the first time in 18 years in 2018, Clarke led the Saints to a dramatic turnaround during the 2019 campaign. Limestone won 20 straight games, capturing both the conference regular season and tournament championships, and advanced to the NCAA Division II National Championship Game for the fifth time in six years.

The 2019 Saints ranked second in the nation in scoring offense and fourth in scoring defense while leading the country in assists, groundballs, and groundballs per game. He was named Conference Carolinas Coach of the Year while the team featured 10 All-Conference selections and five All-Americans.

Clarke reach a pair of coaching milestones during the 2019 season, posting his 150^th win at Limestone with a 21-10 decision at North Greenville on March 27, 2019. He would then pick up his 300^th coaching win overall with a 15-10 home victory over No. 7 Belmont Abbey on April 10, 2019. 

He guided the Blue and Gold to a fourth straight NCAA Division II Championship Game appearance in 2017, and the fifth title game overall during his tenure with the Saints. Limestone registered 20 or more wins for a third consecutive year, and tied its own NCAA Division II record for most wins in a season (21).

The 2017 Saints featured the nation’s top scoring offense with 16.09 goals per game and recorded 10 or more goals in all 22 games this past season. Limestone avenged its only loss of the season when it defeated Merrimack in the title game to clinch its third national championship in four years.

Limestone placed four players on the USILA All-America Team during the 2017 campaign while Kevin Reisman became the first in program history to win the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award twice. Clarke has mentored the national player of the year now in each of the past three seasons.

In 2016, the Saints set multiple program records, including winning percentage (.955) and points per game (30.18), while setting new NCAA Division II benchmarks in wins (21), points (664), goals (424), and assists (240). Limestone also featured one of the top defenses in the country, ranking third nationally with 7.36 goals allowed per game.

The Blue and Gold won 21 straight games during the 2016 campaign and reached the NCAA Division II National Championship Game for a third straight year. He recorded his 100^th win at Limestone with a 19-5 decision over Pfeiffer on April 9, 2016 to become only the second coach in program history to surpass the century mark.

The Saints featured eight USILA All-Americans that year while Mike Messenger was named the 2016 Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award winner as the Most Outstanding Player in Division II. Additionally, Chris Clancy earned the NCAA Elite 90 Award – the third such honor for a Limestone student-athlete under Clarke’s mentorship.

During the 2015 season, Clarke accomplished something that no other coach in Limestone history had before when the Saints won a second straight NCAA Division II National Championship. Not only were the 2014 and 2015 teams the first to win consecutive titles, Clarke became the only coach in program history to win multiple championships.

The 2015 Saints set an NCAA Division II single season record with 20 wins, finishing the year with a 20-1 overall record after defeating Le Moyne 9-6 in the national title game. Limestone started and ended the year at No. 1 in the USILA Coaches’ Poll, and only slipped to No. 2 briefly following the team’s only loss of the season.

The 2015 team featured a program-record eight USILA All-Americans while faceoff specialist Kevin Reisman was named the Lt. Raymond J. Enners Award winner as the Most Outstanding Player in Division II. He led the country in faceoff wins, faceoff winning percentage, ground balls, and ground balls per game while Mike Messenger led NCAA Division II with 55 goals scored to earn First-Team All-American honors.

In 2014, Clarke accomplished something that only two other men had achieved in the history of Limestone men's lacrosse - win an NCAA Division II National Championship. Returning a squad with no previous All-Americans, and only a pair of Preseason All-Americans, the Saints proved to be a team in the truest sense of the word.

The Saints went 19-1 during the 2014 National Championship season, winning 15 straight games to close out the year and culminating with a 12-6 win over LIU Post in the national title game. It was Limestone’s first championship since the 2002 season and the program’s third title overall.

Patrick Sheridan won all 19 of those games in goal for the Saints that season and was named USILA Goalkeeper of the Year while Limestone boasted a total of six USILA All-Americans in 2014.

On March 9, 2014, Clarke earned his 200^th career win with a dramatic 8-7 victory over No. 8 Merrimack.

In 2013, his team finished 16-2 overall and delivered Conference Carolinas Regular Season and Tournament Championships for the fifth straight year. The Saints also made their 14th straight NCAA Division II Tournament appearance, defeating No. 8 Seton Hill 16-13 in the national quarterfinals.

Clarke led Limestone to a 17-2 overall record and 5-0 Conference Carolinas mark in 2012 and advanced to the program’s seventh NCAA National Championship Game after defeating an unbeaten Le Moyne program on their home field. Limestone nearly came home with their third title in program history, but fell to Dowling, 11-10, at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

During his first season with the Saints in 2011, Clarke guided the squad to a 15-2 overall record and a four-week stretch as the No. 1 ranked team in the country. The 15 wins tied the program mark for most wins in a season, and the team was selected to host a national semifinal game for the first time since 2004. Limestone had three players earn USILA First-Team All-American honors in his first year.

Prior to joining the Saints, Clarke served as the head men’s lacrosse coach and Assistant Director of Athletics at Washington College. He guided the Shoreman to a combined 138-63 (.687) overall record in 12 years, becoming the fastest coach to reach 100 wins in program history. He led the program to seven NCAA Division III Tournament appearances and reached the Centennial Conference Championship in eight consecutive seasons. Clarke mentored 28 USILA All-Americans and 78 All-Centennial Conference honorees while in Chestertown.

Before his time with the Shoreman, Clarke was the offensive coordinator for Dave Cottle and Division I Loyola College in Baltimore, Md. The Greyhounds reached the NCAA Division I National Semifinals in 1998 and finished the season ranked No. 2 in the nation.

Clarke first became a head coach at the college level in 1997 when he served one season at the helm of Greensboro College (N.C.). During that season, he turned around a team that went 3-9 in the previous season and transformed it into a team that would go 9-5 and finish in the Top 20 of the NCAA Division III national rankings.

A longtime offensive architect, Clarke applied his skill set as the offensive coordinator at Duke University from 1992-96. During his time in Durham, the Blue Devils won an ACC Championship in 1995 and appeared in the NCAA Division I Tournament in 1994 and 1995. The team recorded the program’s first NCAA Tournament win in 1994 with a 14-9 decision over Maryland.

He has also served as an assistant at The Ohio State University and at Roanoke College in Salem, Va. While with Roanoke, Clarke helped the Maroons reach the NCAA Division III National Championship Game during the 1992 campaign.

In November 2017, Coach Clarke was inducted into the US Lacrosse Connecticut Chapter Hall of Fame.

SSC Regular Season Championships (1): 2022

SSC Tournament Championships (1): 2022

National Championships (4): 2014, 2015, 2017, 2022

Division II National Player of the Year (4): 2015 - Kevin Reisman (USILA Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year), 2016 - Mike Messenger (USILA Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year), 2017 - Kevin Reisman (USILA Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year), 2022 - Matthew Beddow (USILA Raymond J. Enners Outstanding Player of the Year)

First Team All-Americans (36): 2000 - J.D. Radebaugh, 2002 - Jon Fellows, 2003 - Stephen Berger, 2004 - Kyle Mitten, Stephen Berger, 2009 - Gordon Cohen, 2011 - Shayne Jackson, Spencer Wims, Jackson Decker, 2012 - Jackson Decker, Shayne Jackson, Jake Ternosky, 2013 - Riley Loewen, Zach Cummings, Jake Ternosky, 2014 - Mike Messenger, Patrick Sheridan, 2015 - Mike Messenger, Kevin Reisman, 2016 - Kyle Rhatigan, Mike Messenger, Kevin Reisman, Tyler Gaulton, 2017 - Kevin Reisman, Colton Watkinson, Charlie Sheehan, 2019 - Larson Sundown, Clark Walter, Tyler Papa, Jordan Stouros, 2022 - Matthew Beddow, Blake Ulmer, Owen Matukas, Sean Nizolek, 2023 - Matthew Beddow, Daniel Fitzpatrick

Academic All-Americans ():

National Coach of the Year (3): 2014, 2015, 2022

Conference Coach of the Year (5): 2014 (Conference Carolinas), 2015 (Conference Carolinas), 2016 (Conference Carolinas), 2019 (Conference Carolinas), 2022 (Sunshine State Conference)

 J.B. and his wife Lisa have three children – daughters, Jessica and Samantha, and son, Jack – and one granddaughter, Graycen.

100 - at Lynchburg (with Limestone), 8-7, 5/13/2006 (NCAA Second Round)
200 - vs. Merrimack (with Limestone), 8-7, 3/9/2014 
300 - vs. Belmont-Abbey (with Limestone), 15-10, 4/10/2019