Utah head men’s basketball coach Alex Jensen announced another addition to his coaching staff with the hiring of Salt Lake City native, Eric Daniels.
“I couldn’t be happier to have Eric join our staff,” Jensen said. “Eric has deep ties to the Runnin’ Utes. He’s a great player development coach and has been successful at every stop he’s had in his career. Eric also has a deep connection and understanding to basketball in the state of Utah that will be instrumental to the future of our program.”
Daniels has spent the last 10 years of his career in the state of Utah, coaching at Utah Valley (2015-19), Weber State (2019-24) and most recently Utah State (2024-25).
“I am extremely excited and honored to be joining Coach Jensen and the Utah basketball program,” Daniels said. “I look forward to the challenge of bringing the Runnin’ Utes back to NCAA Tournaments and pursue championships. Growing up down the road I know what a special place the University of Utah is, and it feels almost surreal being able to come back home and work for a program with such rich tradition. I want to thank Coach Jensen and Mark Harlan for such an incredible opportunity, and can’t wait to get started!”
Daniels follows in the footsteps of his father, Donny Daniels, who spent 11 seasons on the Hill under legendary head coach Rick Majerus. He also had a second stint with the Runnin’ Utes from 2019-21 on Larry Krystkowiak’s staff as the director of player personnel.
Prior to joining Jensen’s staff, Daniels spent the 2024-25 season at Utah State where he helped the Aggies advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third-consecutive year before finishing the season with an overall record of 24-6. The Aggies had their best start in program history last season, opening the year 10-0.
Daniels was an integral factor in player development at Weber State and coached four-straight First-Team All-Big Sky selections. One of those four included Dillon Jones, who was just the second player ever at Weber State to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (No. 26-overall) – joining Damian Lillard. Jones was also named the Big Sky Most Valuable Player and a unanimous first-team selection after averaging 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists his senior year.
In addition, Daniels also helped guide transfers Kobe McEwen (2021-22) and Isiah Brown (2020-21) to back-to-back Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois transfer Steven Verplancken became a two-time All-Big Sky selection under Daniels’ tutelage. He also helped the Wildcats to three-consecutive top-3 finishes in the Big Sky Conference (2021-23) – including a top-2 defense in the league during that same stretch.
Daniels got his start in the collegiate world at Southern Utah (2008-09) where he served as the director of basketball operations. After a season with the Thunderbirds, he got his first opportunity as an assistant coach at Division II Regis University (2009-14).
After five seasons in Denver, Daniels spent the 2014-15 season with the Orlando Magic as a member of its basketball operations staff as a video analyst.
He would make the jump to Division I the following year, joining Mark Pope’s staff at Utah Valley (2015-19). During his time in Orem, he helped the Wolverines record back-to-back 20-win seasons and three-consecutive postseason tournament appearances.
While at UVU, Daniels helped Jake Toolson earn the 2019 WAC Player of the Year after helping him go from averaging 3.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists to averaging 15.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists that season. He also helped mold Akolda Manyang into a 2018 NABC First-Team All-District selection and WAC All-Defensive Team honoree. Kenneth Ogbe also improved his scoring average that season from 5.2 points per game to 13.7 points per game to earn First-Team All-WAC.
Daniels played basketball at Johnson & Wales University, an NAIA Division II school in Denver from 2004-08 and left as the program’s leader in scoring (1,191) and steals (306). He also led the Wildcats to an NAIA National Tournament berth in 2005.
