Justin Howell, Elisabeth Crandall-Howell Named Co-Head Coaches of Clemson Gymnastics

Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell in their new Clemson gear. (Photo Courtesy of Clemson Athletics)

Clemson, S.C. – Former WCGA National Coaches of the Year and reigning ACC Coaches of the Year Justin Howell and Elisabeth Crandall-Howell have been named Co-Head Coaches of the Clemson Gymnastics program, Director of Athletics Graham Neff announced. The Board of Trustees Compensation Committee approved the measure Monday. The husband-and-wife duo has spent the last 13 seasons building Cal into a national contender, serving the past seven seasons as co-head coaches.

“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,” said Neff. “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. We are excited to see them get to work.”

In their time at Cal, they coached the Golden Bears to 12 consecutive NCAA appearances, finishing as NCAA runners-up in 2024. Cal has earned top-20 finishes every year since 2013 and seven top-10 final rankings since 2016, including the three most recent seasons (2023-25). This season, they were named the Co-ACC Head Coaches of the Year in Cal’s first season in the league after leading the program to a perfect conference record and regular-season title.

The pair are the only two coaches in Cal history to reach 100 career wins, and in 2023 were named the WCGA National Co-Head Coaches of the Year. They also have coached 11 perfect 10.0 performances.

“I’d like to thank President Clements and Athletics Director Graham Neff for this unbelievable opportunity to lead the Clemson Gymnastics program,” said Howell. “The world class resources and support for Clemson student athletes to succeed in the classroom and on the competition floor is incredible. Liz and I are excited to bring our passion, energy, and pursuit of excellence to Tiger Town. Clemson is truly a special place. Go Tigers!”

“I cannot express how excited we are to come to TigerTown,” said Crandall-Howell. “The passion and commitment to excellence that runs through Clemson was clear from the moment we arrived on campus. 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. 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!”

Justin Howell became the head coach at Cal in 2012 and made an immediate impact on the program, earning Pac-12 Coach of the Year and NACGC West Region Coach of the Year honors in his first season. He went on to earn three more NACGC West Region Coach of the Year honors, one more Pac-12 Coach of the Year title (2016) and was named the NACGC National Coach of the Year in 2016 before taking on the role of Co-Head Coach with his wife, Elisabeth Crandall-Howell in 2018. Since then, Howell has earned 2024 WCGA West Region Coach of the Year honors, two more NACGC West Region Coach of the Year honors and two more Pac-12 Coach of the Year nods (2021, 2024).

Crandall-Howell came to Cal as an assistant coach in 2012, was named the associate head coach in 2014 and later assumed the role of Co-Head Coach in 2018. Crandall-Howell was named the NACGC West Region Assistant Coach of the Year award in 2015 and was named the National Assistant Coach of the Year the following season. As a co-head coach, Crandall-Howell has earned two Pac-12 Coach of the Year honors (2021, 2024) and two WCGA Region 6 Coach of the Year honors (2020, 2021).

During his time at Cal, Justin Howell served as the head coach for Team Jamaica at the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

As a collegiate gymnast at BYU, Elisabeth Crandall-Howell was a two-time first-team All-American and three-time NCAA Regional Champion on bars. Crandall-Howell was also a seven-time US National Team member from 1987-92, winning a gold medal at the US Championships on bars in 1991 and a team silver medal at the 1991 World Championships.

Howell and Crandall-Howell have been married since 2011 and have three children.