Josh Pastner - Men's Basketball Coach - University of Nevada Las Vegas Athletics

Josh Pastner

Title:
Head Coach
Email:
joshua.pastner@unlv.edu

Josh Pastner enters his second season as head coach of the UNLV Runnin' Rebels men's basketball program in 2026-27 after guiding the team to a postseason appearance and numerous individual and team milestones during his first year in Las Vegas.

Named UNLV's head coach on March 25, 2025, Pastner has compiled a 294-204 record in 15 seasons as a collegiate head coach, leading his teams to four conference tournament championships, two regular-season conference titles and eight postseason appearances, including five NCAA Tournaments and three National Invitation Tournaments.

A two-time conference Coach of the Year, Pastner previously spent seven seasons each as head coach at Memphis (2009-16) and Georgia Tech (2016-23). He was named the 2017 Atlantic Coast Conference Coach of the Year and the 2013 Conference USA Coach of the Year.

UNLV (2025-Present)

In his first season at the helm of the Runnin' Rebels, Pastner led UNLV to an 18-17 overall record, an 11-9 mark in Mountain West play and a berth in the 2026 National Invitation Tournament, where the team advanced to the second round.

Inheriting a program with just one returning player from the previous season, Pastner assembled a roster of 13 newcomers and navigated significant injuries throughout the campaign. Despite the challenges, the Runnin' Rebels recorded four Quad 1 victories, ranking second among non-power conference programs at the time of the team's final regular-season games.

UNLV posted several notable victories during Pastner's inaugural season, including road wins at Memphis, Stanford, Utah State, Boise State and UC Irvine. The Runnin' Rebels also recorded home wins over Boise State, Grand Canyon, in-state rival UNR, and eventual Mountain West regular-season champion Utah State.

The Runnin' Rebels completed regular-season sweeps of four Mountain West opponents — Utah State, Boise State, San Jose State and Air Force. The sweep of Utah State was UNLV's first since the 2013-14 season, while the two victories over Boise State marked the program's first regular-season sweep of the Broncos since 2019.

Among the season's most memorable performances was a remarkable 23-point comeback at Boise State on Feb. 13, when UNLV rallied for an 86-83 overtime victory. The Runnin' Rebels also defeated rival UNR 85-83 in overtime on Feb. 28 and posted a commanding 92-65 victory over Utah State on March 3. UNLV finished the season with a perfect 3-0 record in overtime contests.

Pastner's first UNLV team established itself as one of the Mountain West's top offensive units. The Runnin' Rebels averaged nearly 79 points per game, their highest scoring average since the 2017-18 season, and led the conference in 3-point field-goal percentage during league play at 39.0%. It marked the first time UNLV led its conference in 3-point shooting percentage since the 1994-95 season, when the program competed in the Big West Conference.

UNLV also led the Mountain West in blocked shots, averaging nearly five per contest.

Several Runnin' Rebels earned conference recognition and achieved significant individual milestones during Pastner's first season.

Junior guard Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn was named the Mountain West Newcomer of the Year and earned First-Team All-Mountain West honors. He became just the second Runnin' Rebel to receive the conference's Newcomer of the Year award, joining Mike Moser in 2012, and the program's first first-team all-conference selection since Bryce Hamilton in 2022.

Gibbs-Lawhorn led the Mountain West in scoring, averaging 23.6 points per game in conference play, and earned three conference Player of the Week awards. He scored a career-high 42 points in UNLV's overtime victory over UNR, matching the highest individual scoring performance by a Runnin' Rebel since 2022. He also averaged 30.1 points per game during February, producing one of the most impressive scoring stretches in recent program history.

Senior guard Howie Fleming Jr. made program history as the first Runnin' Rebel to record two triple-doubles in the same season. Fleming accomplished the feat in a 10-day span against Air Force and Utah State, joining UNLV legend Stacey Augmon as the only players in school history with multiple career triple-doubles.

Freshman forward Tyrin Jones emerged as one of the conference's top young players, earning Mountain West All-Defensive Team recognition and honorable mention All-Mountain West honors. Jones led the league in blocked shots and field-goal percentage during conference play and was named Mountain West Freshman of the Week twice.

UNLV concluded the season with its 12th all-time NIT appearance and second in three years. The Runnin' Rebels defeated UC Irvine 75-72 on the road in the opening round before falling to Tulsa in the second round.

Georgia Tech (2016-2023)

Prior to arriving at UNLV, Pastner spent seven seasons as head coach at Georgia Tech, where he compiled a 109-114 on-court record while leading the Yellow Jackets to an ACC Tournament championship, an NCAA Tournament appearance and a trip to the NIT championship game.

In 2021, Pastner guided Georgia Tech to its first ACC Tournament championship since 1993 and its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2010.

He was named the ACC Coach of the Year in 2017 after leading the Yellow Jackets to the championship game of the NIT in his first season. He also received National Association of Basketball Coaches District 2 Coach of the Year honors that year and was named the state of Georgia College Coach of the Year by the Atlanta Tipoff Club in 2021.

During his tenure, six Georgia Tech players earned All-ACC recognition: Josh Okogie, Jose Alvarado, Michael Devoe, Ben Lammers, James Banks III and Moses Wright.

Memphis (2009-2016)

Pastner began his head coaching career at Memphis, where he compiled a 167-73 record over seven seasons and guided the Tigers to five postseason appearances, including four consecutive NCAA Tournament berths from 2011-14 and an NIT appearance in 2010.

Under his leadership, Memphis captured three consecutive Conference USA Tournament championships (2011, 2012 and 2013) and back-to-back C-USA regular-season titles (2012 and 2013).

He earned Conference USA Coach of the Year honors in 2013 after leading the Tigers to a 31-5 record, an undefeated 16-0 conference season and a trip to the NCAA Tournament's Round of 32.

Recognized for his recruiting ability, Pastner signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the country in 2010 and the No. 2 class in 2013.

Before taking over as head coach, Pastner served as an assistant at Memphis under Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer John Calipari during the 2008-09 season.

Arizona (Playing and Coaching Career)

Pastner began his collegiate basketball career at the University of Arizona, where he was a member of the Wildcats' 1997 NCAA National Championship team under legendary head coach and Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Famer Lute Olson.

Following his playing career, Pastner joined Olson's staff at Arizona, serving as an assistant coach from 2002-08 before moving to Memphis.

His experience playing and coaching under two of college basketball's most accomplished coaches, Olson and Calipari, helped shape the recruiting philosophy, player development approach and competitive foundation that have defined his coaching career.

Education and Personal

Pastner earned his bachelor's degree in family studies from the University of Arizona in 1998 and his master's degree in teaching and teacher education, also from Arizona, in 1999.

Before being named UNLV's head coach, Pastner spent two years working as a television basketball analyst.

Pastner and his wife, Kerri, have three daughters, Payten, Kamryn and Harper, a son, Cason, and a stepson, Ethan.