Josh Eilert, who has spent the last 16 seasons on the Mountaineer basketball staff, has been named head men's basketball coach at West Virginia University for an interim period, Vice President and Director of Athletics Wren Baker announced.
"I spoke with knowledgeable basketball people around the country over the last week, including coaches, professional basketball executives and others of whom I trust to identify a strong group of candidates to speak with," Baker said. "Ultimately what I came to recognize, was that conducting this search in late June was difficult for many of our candidates and also it put our talented student-athletes at a real disadvantage. With that said, we will conduct our national search at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season."
Since coming to West Virginia in 2007, Eilert has helped the Mountaineers earn 11 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2010 Final Four and five NCAA Sweet 16s.
"Josh Eilert is the right person to lead our men's basketball program next season," Baker added. "He has been an important part of our success, and he has displayed great integrity, work ethic and dedication. He has been involved in all facets of our program during his time on the basketball staff, and he has earned this opportunity to coach our team on an interim basis for the 2023-24 season.
"Our athletics department will provide Josh, his staff and our student-athletes with a great support system and will do everything we can to ensure a successful season. Change is never easy and always presents challenges, but I am confident that this is the correct decision at this time. Moving forward and continuing our preparation for the upcoming season is the top priority now for our program."
During his career, Eilert has handled a wide variety of duties, including directing WVU's wing and post players, on- and off-campus recruiting, on-court scouting, opponent scouting, film preparation, scheduling, coordinated the day-to-day internal operations of the basketball program, travel arrangements, camps, film exchange, fundraising and other special projects. This past season, Eilert moved into a coaching role as an assistant coach and served as an interim assistant coach during the 2016-17 season.
In 2021, Eilert was named a member of the Top 50 Notable Division I Support Staff by Silver Waves Media.
Eilert came to WVU in 2007 from Kansas State, where he served as a graduate assistant in 2006-07.
"I would like to thank Wren Baker, President Gee, Rob Alsop, Steve Uryasz and the rest of our administration for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to lead our storied Mountaineer basketball program," Eilert said. "I would also like to thank Coach Huggins for retaining me on his staff at K-State in 2006 and for bringing me to West Virginia in 2007. I've learned so much from Coach Huggins, and it was an honor to work for a Hall of Fame coach for the last 17 years.
"I'm excited about this opportunity to lead the wonderful group of guys that we have in our locker room. They have been working extremely hard on the court, in the weight room and in the classroom since they returned to campus on June 5. In the coming days and weeks, I will be solidifying our roster and getting our team ready to head to Italy later this summer."
Eilert played two seasons of basketball at Kansas State from 2002-04 after transferring from Cloud County Community College, where he was a two-year letterman and one-year starter.
He was named to the Academic All-Big 12 Team as a senior and four times was selected to the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll. Eilert was honored at K-State with the Keith Amerson Academic Award in 2004. While at Cloud County, he earned KJCAA Academic All-America honors as a sophomore.
A native of Osborne, Kansas, Eilert earned his bachelor's degree in marketing from Kansas State in 2004. He earned his master's degree in College Student Personnel/Intercollegiate Athletics from Kansas State in 2007.
Eilert and his wife, Brandi, have two sons, Brendan and Tristan, and a daughter, Emri.
"I would also like to thank my wife, Brandi, and my three children for being incredibly supportive of me during my career," Eilert said. "My three children were born in Morgantown, and West Virginia is a place we are proud to call home. We love being a part of Mountaineer Nation, and I will continue to put everything I have in seeing our student-athletes succeed on and off the court."
