Alabama basketball assistant Austin Claunch will remain with the Crimson Tide for the duration of its run in the NCAA tournament despite reaching an agreement to be the next head coach at UTSA.

Claunch was announced as UTSA’s head coach Sunday morning. After Alabama punched its ticket as a No. 4 seed in the NCAA tournament later in the day, head coach Nate Oats said Claunch is still very focused on helping the Tide through the Big Dance.

“He’s definitely sticking around with us,” Oats said of Claunch. “This is his first tournament he’s been in. He wants to make a run.”

Claunch is in his first year with Alabama after spending the previous five seasons as Nicholls State's head coach where he led the Colonels to a 90-61 record. He was one of three new assistants for the Crimson Tide this year, after it had to replace its whole staff from a season ago.

Originally Claunch was set to coach Alabama’s offense this year. However, last month Oats revealed that he made a switch to his staff that saw him, Claunch and fellow assistant Preston Murphy take over the defense, while assistant Ryan Pannone ran the offense.

According to KenPom, Alabama ranks No. 2 nationally in offensive efficiency (125.6 points per 100 possessions) and No. 112 in defensive efficiency (103.1 points allowed per 100 possessions).

After entering the NCAA tournament as the No. 1 overall seed last season, this season marks the first time Alabama has entered the tournament as a No. 4 seed or better in consecutive years.

“For us to lose the entire staff and then come in and lose 75-80% of the roster, to do what we did this year is pretty good,” Oats said. “You’ve got to give the staff a lot of credit.”

Sunday evening, Oats said he spoke with UTSA athletic director Lisa Campos, providing a positive reference on Claunch.

“I’m happy for Austin,” Oats said. “He’s a great culture guy, a great mind as a head coach. He’s brought a lot to the program. We both learned from each other in the year he was here. I think he’ll do a great job there.”

While Oats said he is happy with Claunch and recommended him to take the job, he has also had several conversations with the assistant to make sure his head is in the right place heading into next week’s tournament. All indications are that Claunch is locked in and fully focused on the task at hand.

No. 4 seed Alabama (21-11) will open up play in the tournament against No. 13 seed Charleston (27-7) at 6:35 p.m. CT, Friday in Spokane, Washington. The game can be seen on truTV.