Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell were named new co-head coaches of the Clemson University gymnastics team on Monday.
Howell and Crandall-Howell, the reigning ACC coaches of the year, have spent the past 13 seasons at California and have developed the program into a national powerhouse. The Golden Bears have reached the NCAA tournament every year since 2013 and were the NCAA runner-up in 2024, marking the best result for the team in program history.
Graham Neff, Clemson's athletic director, announced the hiring in a statement and lauded the married duo for what they had achieved in Berkeley.
"We've gotten to see the program that Justin and Liz built up close during their first season in the ACC, and the consistent excellence they have achieved speaks for itself," Neff said. "In addition to many competitive accomplishments, their reputation has been praised time and again in our research. We emphasized finding a coaching staff with experience in some of the biggest moments, and who could continue the trajectory of our program -- we feel we have that in Justin and Liz. We are impressed with their technical ability, approach to operations, plan for development, incorporation of health, wellness and recovery, and attention to detail."
Clemson will compete in just its third season of NCAA gymnastics in 2026. Amy Smith, who led the team for its first two years, was fired last month. The Tigers finished the 2025 season ranked No. 29 in the country and having finished fourth in the ACC standings and reaching the NCAA regionals. Clemson averaged 8,369 fans in attendance for home meets in 2025 -- the eighth-highest average in the country last season.
Crandall-Howell praised Clemson's "passion and commitment to excellence" in the same introductory statement.
"The abundance of resources have been carefully and meticulously curated to support the student-athletes in every pursuit - sport, academics, career and leadership development - and to utilize those skills to go out into the world as leaders," Crandall-Howell said. "It was, however, the people that we met in Clemson that confirmed that this is the place we need to be. Justin and I believe that Clemson gymnastics can become one of the top programs in the nation, and we cannot wait to get out there and get to work."
With the Clemson job now filled, Howell and Crandall-Howell's departure will likely make Cal one of the most desirable open coaching positions in the sport.