Finger Lakes' Franklin Clark named Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year for the first time

Charlotte, NC: After leading Finger Lakes (NY) to its first national championship, Franklin Clark has been named the 2026 NJCAA Men's Volleyball Coach of the Year. Clark has been named the national coach of the year for the first time in his career.

Since taking over the program, Clark was able to lead the Lakers to win the first-ever NJCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship. After failing to make the finals of the Men's Volleyball National Invitational last year, Clark took over the program, hoping to bring back the spark that Finger Lakes Men's Volleyball program once had.  

In just one season, Clark led the Lakers to an impressive 22-4 season, keeping them in the Top 3 all season. Clark's Lakers had one of the top offenses in the nation, ranking third in kills per set, fourth in kills, fifth in assists, and second in service aces and service aces per set. After losing the East District Championship to Union (NJ), the Lakers received the first At-Large bid for the National Tournament.

Entering the National Tournament as the 5th Seed, Finger Lakes came out swinging by defeating Union (NJ) in the quarterfinals of the National Championship. They then went on to shock the Number 1 Seed, DuPage (IL), beating them in four sets to advance to the National Championship. The Lakers then went on to defeat Ocean County (NJ) in four sets to claim the first-ever NJCAA Men's Volleyball National Championship. Clark was named the Coach of the Tournament, while three members of Finger Lakes were named to the All-Tournament Team, along with Ethan Bond, who was named Most Valuable Player. 

In an interview with the Finger Lakes Athletic Department before his first year as Head Coach, Clark stated, "I am both excited and grateful to be taking over a program that has set the bar high as far as expectations on and off the court." Clark led up to the expectations as Finger lakes captures their first National Championship.