Western Michigan University Athletics

Clayton Bates was named the 14th head coach of the Western Michigan men's basketball program in March of 2020. The 2021-22 campaign marks his second season at the helm of the Broncos.

Bates earned his first win as head coach of the Broncos on Dec. 7, 2020 against Adrian. The 2020-21 season saw Western Michigan sweep rival Central Michigan on the way to a ninth-place finish in the Mid-American Conference. B. Artis White and Greg Lee were both named All-MAC Honorable Mention, while Chase Barrs, William Boyer-Richard, Patrick Emilien and Jason Whitens were Academic All-MAC selections. Boyer-Richard, Emilien and Whitens were also selected to the 2021 NABC Honors Court.
 
Bates has spent a considerable portion of his coaching career as an assistant with the Broncos. Bates was hired at Western Michigan in 2000 by former head coach Robert McCullum and later served on former head coach Steve Hawkins' staff. Bates stepped away from coaching for the 2008-09 season before returning to the WMU bench for the 2009-10 season. He stepped aside after that campaign, and then rejoined Hawkins' staff once again as an assistant coach in 2012. He was later elevated to associate head coach prior to being named head coach in 2020. 

Bates has played an important role in the success at WMU while establishing himself as one of the best coaches and top recruiters in the Mid-American Conference. During his first stint at Western Michigan, from 2000-2008, the Broncos posted four 20-win seasons while advancing to the 2004 NCAA Tournament and the 2003 and 2005 National Invitation Tournament. After spending the 2008-09 season away from coaching, Bates returned to the Broncos and helped Hawkins steer the team to an 18-15 record in 2009-10.  

Bates served as an assistant coach to Billy Donlon at Wright State from 2010-12, helping the Raiders to a 19-14 record in his first season in 2010-11. While at Wright State, Bates recruited the 2012 Horizon League Newcomer of the Year Julius Mays and coached three players to All-Horizon League Honors.

He has been a key factor in the recruitment and development of a number of WMU’s top contributors in program history including two MAC Players of the Year (Mike Williams, 2004 and David Kool, 2010) and 2008 CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major All-American Joe Reitz. During his tenure in Kalamazoo, 32 Broncos have been named All-MAC, eight have been named to the All-MAC Freshman Team, three have been named MAC Freshman of the Year and two have been named the MAC Sixth Man of the Year.  The Broncos also had great success in the classroom under Bates’ tutelage, as 35 players have earned Academic All-MAC honors in his tenure, including Kool and Reitz, who each earned Academic All-American honors.
 
Bates played at the University of Florida under Lon Kruger and served as an administrative assistant with him at the University of Illinois in 1997 when the Illini advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. After one year at Illinois, Bates returned to his native Florida as an assistant coach at Jacksonville University for the next three years under hall of fame coach Hugh Durham.  

A former guard, Bates played for Gator teams that made four postseason appearances, most notably the 1994 Final Four.  During his playing career, Bates was awarded the 1993 Most Inspirational Player, the 1996 Most Outstanding Academic Player, and was named the 1996 Fred Koss Memorial Award winner, which is given to the player who displays the highest levels of sportsmanship, dedication, and commitment to the team and community during his career.
 
Bates graduated from UF with a bachelor’s degree in exercise physiology (1995) and completed his master’s work in sports administration (1997) at Illinois.
 
Bates is married to the former Annemarie Mernagh, an All-Big East volleyball player at the University of Pittsburgh and former assistant volleyball coach at WMU. The couple has two daughters, Annelyse and Sydney.