Eilert Named Assistant Men's Basketball Coach at WVU
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on July 20, 2022
Josh Eilert, who has spent the last 15 seasons on Mountaineer basketball staff, including serving as an interim assistant coach during the 2016-17 season, has been named assistant men’s basketball coach at West Virginia University, coach Bob Huggins announced today.
Eilert moves into the coaching role after serving as Assistant Athletics Director for Basketball Operations. He moved into the operations role on the staff in 2013 after spending the first six seasons under Huggins as the video coordinator.
For the 2016-17 season, Eilert served as an interim assistant coach. During that time, he was responsible for on-court scouting, off-campus recruiting and working with WVU’s wing players.
Eilert replaces Erik Martin, who was recently named head coach of the South Carolina State men’s basketball program.
In 2021, Eilert was named to the Top 50 Notable Division I Support Staff by Silver Waves Media.
“Obviously, Josh has been an integral part of Mountaineer basketball for the last 15 years,” Huggins said. “He has a great basketball background as a player, in basketball operations and as a coach.
“Josh will be able to open up new recruiting avenues as he was a successful junior college basketball player in Kansas, which houses some of the best junior college basketball leagues and players in the country. He has conducted many of our camps and clinics and has met many coaches in West Virginia and in the surrounding areas. He is well-suited and capable of doing a great job for us.”
He came to WVU in 2007 from Kansas State, where he served as a graduate assistant at Kansas State under Huggins in 2006-07.
Since coming to West Virginia in 2007, the Mountaineers won the 2010 Big East Championship and have earned 10 NCAA Tournament appearances, including the 2010 Final Four and five NCAA Sweet 16s.
“I’m extremely grateful for this opportunity to move into an assistant coach role here at West Virginia,” Eilert said. “I’ve been lucky to work for a Hall of Fame coach for the past 15 years while patiently waiting to get back on the floor. I look forward to continuing to work with Coach Huggins, Coach (Larry) Harrison and Coach (Ron) Everhart, and certainly wish Coach Martin and his family all the best at South Carolina State.
“I’m excited to continue to build relationships on the recruiting trail, while representing this great state on and off the floor. I’m eager to get back on the floor to coach, scout and help develop our post players.”
While at Kansas State, Eilert assisted the coaching staff with the day-to-day internal operations of the basketball program, including self-scout and opponent scouting, coordination of on-campus recruiting, film exchange, travel arrangements and special projects. Eilert also served as the assistant camp director of the Bob Huggins basketball camps.
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 a first team all-Big 12 academic selection as a senior and four times was named to the Big 12 Commissioner’s Honor Roll. Eilert was honored 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.
