Men's Basketball

2020-21 (Junior): Clay appeared in 24 of Tech’s 27 games with 21 starts, missing the first three games of the season due to COVID-19 protocols… led the team with 17.3 points, 43 steals, 34.3 minutes per game, and a 3-point field goal percentage of 34.7… ranked second in the OVC in scoring, third in 3-point field goals per game, fifth in steals per game, and 10^th in assists per game… tallied 88 assists to rank second on the squad and hauled in 2.9 rebounds per game while shooting 43.4 percent from the floor and 72.3 percent from the charity stripe… became just the second player in team history to start his career with three straight 400+ point seasons, joining all-time scoring leader Earl Wise… became the 37^th member of Tech’s 1,000-point club in the team’s win over Tennessee State (Jan. 16)… dropped a career-high 31 points with a career-best six triples, as well as six assists, three steals, and two blocks, in a win over Austin Peay (Feb. 25)… also turned in a then career-high 29 points at Austin Peay (Jan. 21)… tallied his first career double-double with 20 points and a career-high 10 assists against Jacksonville State (Dec. 13)… collected his second double-double of the year with 15 points and 10 assists at Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 9)… hauled in a career-high-tying nine rebounds at Murray State (Jan. 23)… managed a season-high four steals at Western Carolina (Dec. 6) and again against Southeast Missouri (Dec. 30)… became just the third Tech player to make at least one 3-pointer in every game he played in a single season… extended his streak of consecutive games with at least one made 3-pointer to 37 straight games, the second-longest in program history… moved into a tie for 12^th in school history for double-digit scoring performances with 70… became the first Golden Eagle ever to rank in the top-20 in scoring (20^th), top-10 in assists (eighth), top-10 in steals (eighth), and top-10 in 3-point field goals made (10^th) for a career… extended his consecutive double-figure scoring streak from the 2019-20 season to 27 games before it ended as the second-longest streak by a Golden Eagle since 1970-71… led the team in scoring 14 times, scored in double figures 20 times, and scored 20+ points in 10 games… recorded at least one assist in 23 of 24 games and at least one steal in 21 of 24 contests… led the team in assists nine times and in steals 11 times… totaled five or more dimes in seven games… earned the team’s top honor as the Sam Harley Lynn Award winner, given to the player for overall contributions to the program… became just the fourth player in program history to earn the team’s Most Valuable Player award three times, joining all-time greats Stephen Kite, Anthony Avery, and Anthony Fisher.

2019-20 (Sophomore): Clay made 28 starts while appearing in all 31 games during the season, averaging 29.6 minutes per game… led Tech and ranked 11^th in the OVC in scoring with 13.4 points per game… also led the team and finished fifth in the league with 56 steals on the year… totaled 121 assists or 3.9 dimes per game to rank second on the team and sixth in the OVC… averaged 3.6 rebounds per game… shot 41.1 percent from the floor, 32.7 percent from 3-point range and 74.3 percent from the charity stripe… led the Golden Eagles with 78 made free throws on a team-high 105 attempts… drilled 48-of-147 tries from downtown to rank second on the team in made triples… scored a season-high 22 points at Eastern Illinois (Jan. 18)… dished out a season-best nine assists in Tech’s win at Winthrop (Nov. 21)… collected a season-high five steals against Western Carolina (Dec. 21) and again against Tennessee State (Feb. 1)… snagged a season-best nine rebounds at Tennessee State (Feb. 15)… connected on a career-high four 3-pointers against Lipscomb (Nov. 25)… led the team in scoring 14 times and finished in double figures in scoring 26 times… ended the season with 24 consecutive double-digit scoring performances… recorded at least one assist in 29 of the 31 games he played… led the team in assists 13 times and in steals 19 times… hit at least one 3-pointer in each of his final 13 games of the season… totaled five or more dimes in 12 contests… named the team’s Most Valuable Player and the team’s Offensive Player of the Year Award winner for the second straight year at the conclusion of the season.

2018-19 (Freshman): Clay played in 29 of the team’s 31 games on the year, making 19 starts and missing just two games due to injury… led the team in scoring with 14.4 points over 31.6 minutes per game… ranked fourth in the league with 4.3 assists per game, accounting for a team-high 124 on the year… set the program’s freshman steals record with a team-best 51, which ranked fifth in the OVC… hauled in 3.8 rebounds per game… shot an impressive 39.4 percent from 3-point range, sinking 39-of-99 tries… connected for a team-high 100 free throws on 139 attempts for a 71.9 percent mark… scored his first collegiate points in the season-opener at Memphis (Nov. 6)… dropped a season-high 26 points at Morehead State (Jan. 24)… narrowly missed a double-double in his first collegiate start, scoring 14 points and dishing out a season-best nine assists against Warren Wilson (Dec. 6)… flirted with a triple-double at Eastern Kentucky (Jan. 26), accounting for 22 points and eight assists while tying his season-high of nine rebounds… also snagged nine boards against Winthrop (Nov. 28)… drained 11-of-12 free-throw attempts on his way to 22 points while playing a season-high 42 minutes at Southeast Missouri (Feb. 7)… his season-high of five steals at Kennesaw State represented the most by a Tech freshman since 2013-14… joined fellow rookies Jared Sherfield and Hunter Vick to represent the program’s first freshman class to have three players with 20 points in at least one game… tallied 20+ points in seven games, the second-most by a Tech freshman in program history… also turned in the second-most double-figure scoring performances by a Golden Eagle freshman with 24 on the year, missing Earl Wise’s mark of 25 by one… joined fellow freshman Hunter Vick as the first pair of Golden Eagle rookies to average double figures since 1978-79… his 14.4 points per game ranked as the second-highest freshman scoring average in program history… one of just 15 freshmen, including teammate Hunter Vick, to post multiple 20-point outings in a single season… led Tech in scoring a team-high 11 times and led the team in assists in 21 games… named the team’s Most Valuable Player and the team’s Offensive Player of the Year Award winner at the conclusion of the season.

High School: Clay prepped as a point guard under John Shulman at The McCallie School in Chattanooga, Tenn…. averaged 20 points and seven assists per game as a senior… led McCallie to a school-record 27 wins and appearance in the state championship game as a junior, scoring 35 points on 10-of-12 shooting in the semifinal victory over Montgomery Bell Academy… named a finalist for the TSSAA Division II Class AA Mr. Basketball award as a junior and again as a senior… earned All-State honors and All-Region honors four times… named the MVP of the Chattanooga Times Free Press Best of Preps tournament three times… collected Best of Preps Player of the Year honors… selected to the Arby’s Classic All-Tournament Team… scored over 1,800 points in his high school career.

Personal: Son of Naketa and Ardarryl Clay Sr.… born February 23, 2000… full name is Ardarryl Clay Jr…. sister, Chadarryl, played basketball at Auburn and VCU.

Academic: Majoring in interdisciplinary studies… named to the Athletic Director’s Honor Roll four times.

Honors & Awards:

• 2020-21 NABC All-District 18 Second Team
• 2020-21 All-OVC Second Team
• 2020-21 OVC Player of the Week (Mar. 1)
• 2019-20 All-OVC Second Team
• 2018-19 All-OVC Second Team
• 2018-19 OVC All-Newcomer Team
• 2018-19 Two-time OVC Freshman of the Week (Dec. 3, Jan. 28)