University of Georgia Athletics
Jay Clark Named Ninth Best Recruiter In College Sports
January 31, 2011 | Gymnastics
Jan. 31, 2011
ATHENS-----Georgia head gymnastics coach Jay Clark has been ranked the ninth best recruiter in all of college sports by ESPNU and ESPN The Magazine.
The list was compiled by a panel of three dozen experts who were asked: Who are the top 20 recruiters in college sports? Clark is the only gymnastics coach to make the list.
Clark, in his second season at the helm of the Gym Dogs, has long led Georgia's recruiting efforts. The Roswell, Ga., native became an assistant coach at UGA under Suzanne Yoculan in 1990, and his recruiting success helped earn him the title of associate head coach in 2005. During his tenure at Georgia, the Gym Dogs have won seven NCAA titles and 12 SEC championships.
Among the classes Clark brought to Georgia are the seniors of 1998 and 1999, regarded by Yoculan as being two of the best recruiting classes in the history of Georgia gymnastics. The 2008 and 2009 senior classes recruited by Clark each won four NCAA championships.
Clark also oversees Georgia's success on the uneven bars. Under his direction, four Gym Dogs have won five NCAA individual titles on the event and gymnasts have claimed 63 All-America honors.
In 2006, Clark was honored by his peers as the National Assistant Coach of the Year.
Clark coached 13 years at the club level, where his gymnasts from Classic City Gymnastics Academy were regular qualifiers for and winners of regional and national championships at USA Gymnastics Levels 8, 9 and 10. He was named the 2001 USA Gymnastics Georgia Coach of the Year.
This season, Clark has led Georgia to a 6-1 record and a No. 4 national ranking.
ESPNU and ESPN The Magazine Top 20 Recruiters In College Sports
1. Pat Henry, Texas A&M men's and women's cross-country, indoor and outdoor track
2. Anson Dorrance, UNC women's soccer
3. Ed Orgeron, USC football assistant
4. Chris Dailey, UConn women's hoops assistant
5. Missy Meharg, Maryland field hockey
6. Mike Krzyzewski, Duke men's hoops
7. Russ Rose, PSU women's volleyball
8. Burton Burns, Alabama football assistant
9. Jay Clark, Georgia gymnastics
10. Chad Holbrook, South Carolina baseball assistant
11. Dan Jordan, Alaska rifle
12. John Calipari, Kentucky men's basketball
13. Mike McGraw, Oklahoma State men's golf
14. Jovan Vavic, USC men's and women's water polo
15. Thad Matta, Ohio State men's hoops
16. Kelly Inouye-Perez, UCLA softball
17. Mike LoPresti, Fairleigh Dickinson women's bowling
18. Tosh Lupoi, Cal football assistant
19. Kelly Amonte Hiller, Northwestern women's lacrosse
20. J Robinson, Minnesota wrestling
