The 2025-26 season was the second at the College for assistant coach Cliff Paul.
The Foresters were 16-10 overall, their best record in seven seasons, in 2025-26. They also posted an 11-5 mark in the Midwest Conference to tie for third place in the standings and made their second straight appearance in the four-team MWC Tournament. Lake Forest is now 30-23 overall and 21-11 in league play during Paul's two years with the program.
Lake Forest's Cristian Rodriguez and Alex Forowycz were the league's top two scorers in 2025-26 and were one of just five sets of NCAA Division III teammates to each average at least 20 points per game. Both players earned First Team All-MWC accolades, giving the team three such selections as well as a second team honor in the last two seasons.
Paul founded Illinois HoopStars in Chicago in 2019 and has served as a head coach with the AAU program ever since. He has also been a lead coach at Power Through Basketball in Woodridge, Illinois, since 2022.
He is an NCAA Certified, USA Basketball Certified, and Junior NBA Certified coach.
In addition to coaching, Paul is an Illinois licensed para professional and serves as a director at Ultimate Response Consultants in Lombard, Illinois.
