Utah head men’s basketball coach Craig Smith announced the addition of Josh Eilert to his staff as an assistant coach.
“We’re thrilled to have Josh and his wonderful family join the Utah men’s basketball program,” Smith said. “Josh is an excellent coach in all facets. He is well rounded in all phases of the game and articulates the game in a clear and concise manner. Josh has an excellent background in player development and will specifically work with the ‘bigs’ in our program. He also has a vast knowledge of the Big 12, having played and coached in it for nearly two decades; which will be very impactful as we head into that conference this season.”
Eilert comes to Salt Lake City after spending the last 17 seasons at West Virginia (2007-24) in various capacities, most recently serving as the interim head coach for the 2023-24 season. During his time in Morgantown, the Mountaineers earned 11 NCAA Tournament berths – including a Final Four appearance in 2010 and five NCAA Sweet 16s.
“I would like to thank Coach Smith and the University of Utah administration for this incredible opportunity,” Eilert said. “I have an immense amount of respect for Coach Smith for the way in which he runs his program and the success he has had along the way. I am thrilled to remain a member of the Big 12 Conference, a league that I have spent 17 years in. My family and I are eager to join the Salt Lake City community and represent the University of Utah and this storied basketball program! Go Utes!”
In his time at WVU, Eilert has had his hand in everything within the program from working with the wings and post players, on and off-campus recruiting, scouting, film prep, scheduling, day-to-day internal operations, travel, camps, film exchange, fundraising and countless other special projects.
He was also recognized by Silver Waves Media and named to its Top-50 Notable Division I Support Staff list in 2021.
The Kansas native officially moved into an assistant coach position for the 2022-23 season before being appointed the interim head coach for the 2023-24 season after the departure of long-time head coach Bob Huggins.
Prior to joining the Mountaineers staff, Eilert was a graduate assistant at his alma mater (Kansas State) from 2005-07. He spent his first season as a GA under his head coach Jim Wooldridge before working with Huggins for the 2006-07 season.
No stranger to the Big 12, Eilert played two seasons at K-State from 2002-04 after transferring in from Cloud County CC where he was a two-year letter winner and one-year starter. Eilert was a stalwart in the classroom as well, earning Academic All-Big-12 as a senior with four-straight Big-12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll selections and was honored with the Keith Amerson Academic Award his senior year. In addition, the former forward also earned KJCAA Academic All-America honors his sophomore year at Cloud County CC.
Former West Virginia Interim Head Coach Josh Eilert joins Utah Basketball Staff
