Mark PriceBaylor School has reached out to the college ranks to find its new boys' basketball coach.
Mark Price, an assistant at Belmont University for the past seven seasons, has been named the Red Raiders' new head coach. Price succeeds the legendary Austin Clark, who retired shortly after guiding the program to the state tournament last season.
"We had a very impressive candidate pool, so the fact that Mark rose to the top speaks to our excitement level about what we believe he can do at Baylor," said Baylor headmaster Scott Wilson. "When we spoke we talked about not only basketball but the importance of building relationships with the players and being a mentor, and everything he said resonated with us. Mark's plan sounded very familiar with what we've known from having someone like Austin Clark here for so long.
"It takes a big man to fill big shoes, and at Baylor he's going to be filling big shoes. We're really excited about what Mark can do with the program."
Price helped Belmont to six consecutive conference championships and the NCAA Division I tournament three times. Prior to Belmont, he spent two seasons as the head coach at Ouachita Baptist University, a Division II program in Arkansas.
Price was also an assistant at Furman andAlabama-Huntsville - helping that program reach the NCAA tournament twice - and helped Faulkner to the 2001 NAIA national championship.
Belmont has led the nation in 2-point field-goal percentage five of the last six seasons, and the Bruins went 81-17 in Ohio Valley Conference games, including 47-2 at home.
"I first heard about Baylor because Coach (Rick) Byrd had spoken so highly of Coach Clark and his program from the time I joined his staff," said Price, noting Byrd and Clark's relationship from their time together at the University of Tennessee. "Coach Byrd doesn't just throw praise around easily, so I knew by him speaking so highly of the program that it was special.
"Once I began to visit the school to recruit some of their players, I recognized what an incredible opportunity the school could provide, and I gained a ton of respect myself for the way Coach Clark ran his program. When I began interviewing for the job it was the people there who really sold me on Baylor. From Scott Wilson on down, everyone I met during the process was a quality person. It's a tremendous institution with a ton of tradition, and I am honored to be able to coach there.
"Coach Clark is the face of Baylor basketball. He built something really special there, and I am excited to have the opportunity to continue that tradition."
Clark retired in April after 36 seasons as Baylor, which won 522 games under his leadership and reached the state tournament 15 times and finished as runner-up twice, including last season.
"I think it's an outstanding hire and I'm excited for the kids on the team and the school," Clark said. "Coach Price has an impressive resume, and having been associated with Rick Byrd, who I believe is one of the finest college coaches in the nation, for seven seasons says plenty about what type coach he is.
"Baylor is very fortunate to have such a quality young man leading the program."
Serving as a campus leader for Belmont's university ministries, Price led a group of Bruins student-athletes on a mission trip to Kenya this past year, to Haiti in 2013, 2014 and 2016 and to South Dakota in 2015.
A native of Brandenburg, Kentucky, Price earned a bachelor's degree in secondary education from Samford in 1998. He and his wife Kara, a native of Oak Ridge, have two daughters.
"Having been a head coach for a short time, then coming to Belmont to refine that, I'm excited to represent Baylor - whether it's at team camp or around town wearing those colors," Price said. "It's a special place and I can't wait to get started.
"I am really grateful to Baylor for this opportunity and to Coach Byrd as well. I recognize I don't get an opportunity like this without having worked for people who helped prepare me for this. My wife and I prayed about a great opportunity like this, so I feel like it's an answered prayer."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.