I mentioned this one in Today’s Daily Dirt…it’s now been made official.
Oklahoma State head coach Mike Boynton has announced the addition of basketball coaching veteran Erik Pastrana as an assistant coach for the Cowboys.
Pastrana has a dozen seasons of collegiate coaching under his belt, including a magical run alongside Boynton at Stephen F. Austin during that program’s 89-14 stretch that included a pair of NCAA Tournament upsets. He also spent time on the coaching staffs at Florida Atlantic, FIU, Daytona State and Kansas State.
“I am beyond excited to be able to add Erik to our staff,” Boynton said. “Erik and I worked together for three years and helped to take a strong program to new heights. I would put his ability to evaluate talent and connect with young people at the very highest levels of our profession. He has a relentless work ethic and has experienced a great deal of success throughout his time in college basketball. Erik knows our region really well, but also has the ability to help us continue to expand our reach as a program. I look forward to having him on board to help us in our pursuit of sustained excellence.”
A native of Miami, Florida, Pastrana spent the 2018-19 season at Florida Atlantic, where he helped the Owls pick up road wins at Illinois and UCF, post their first winning record since 2010-11 and earn a trip to the CIT.
Prior to his time in Boca Raton, Pastrana spent the 2017-18 season as the head coach at Daytona State College, where he led the Falcons to a 19-12 record and had four players named to the Mid-Florida All-Conference Team. He spent the 2016-17 season back in his hometown as an assistant coach at Florida International University.
In his three seasons at SFA, Pastrana and the Lumberjacks won three consecutive Southland Conference Championships, had three straight Southland Players of the Year and earned NCAA Tournament victories over VCU in 2014 and West Virginia in 2016. The 89 wins that staff accrued tied for the most by any coaching staff in its first three campaigns in NCAA history.
“I’m extremely excited to be joining Mike Boynton’s staff at Oklahoma State,” Pastrana said. “OSU is a tradition-rich program that I came to admire during my time at K-State. Just as importantly, I’ll be joining a head coach that I have the utmost respect for. Mike and I built a special relationship during our run at SFA, and I look forward to continuing the progress this great program has made in his tenure.”
Pastrana began his career as a graduate assistant under Frank Martin at Kansas State from 2007-09. In his first season with K-State, the Wildcats finished third in the Big 12 with a 21-12 record, notched their first NCAA Tournament win since 1988 and saw freshman Michael Beasley selected No. 2 in the NBA draft. Kansas State posted another 20-win season during Pastrana’s second year, earning an at-large bid to the NIT.
Following his experience with the Wildcats, Pastrana worked as an assistant coach at Labette Community College in Parsons, Kansas, and Northwest Florida State College in Niceville, Florida. At NWFSC, Pastrana helped lead the Raiders to a 30-4 record and an appearance in the NJCAA National Championship with a team that featured 10 future Division I signees including the 2013 NJCAA Player of the Year Chris Jones and NJCAA All-American Elgin Cook.
On top of his collegiate experience, Pastrana has also coached two highly respected AAU programs, the Florida Rams and KC Run GMC.
Pastrana holds a master’s degree in counseling and student development from Kansas State and earned his bachelors in history from Florida State in 2007.
Pastrana’s hiring is pending a standard background check.
