West Virginia Announces ‘National Search’ for New Head Coach After 9-23 Season Under Josh Eilert
West Virginia athletic director Wren Baker announced on Wednesday that the Mountaineers will begin a national search for a new men’s basketball coach following a 9-23 season under interim coach Josh Eilert.
“As I shared last summer following our initial coaching transition, we decided to wait until the conclusion of the 2023-24 season before embarking on a full national search,” said Baker. “Upon our return to Morgantown from the Big 12 Men’s Basketball Championship, I met with Coach Eilert, the coaching staff and the team to let them know we are moving forward with our search plans.
“All of Mountaineer Nation owes a debt of gratitude to Coach Eilert for his leadership during a challenging season, as he and his staff faced all obstacles with class and professionalism.”
Eilert was faced with the impossible task of replacing former head coach Bob Huggins, who departed the program after he was arrested for DUI in June of 2023. The timing of Huggins’s sudden removal from a place where he’d grown into a legend had a major impact on the program.
Despite not having a full deck to work with from the beginning, West Virginia’s interim coach did what he could to serve as a bridge replacement for the program, and he undoubtedly served that purpose.
Now, the Mountaineers can focus on the future ahead and start to rebuild the program that we all grew familiar with in the golden years of Huggins’ tenure.
“We are now focused on our collective future, and I am excited about what comes next,” Baker said. “We compete in the best men’s basketball conference in America, we have incredible fans and supporters, we have a history of success and we have a commitment to winning. I am confident we will engage a strong pool of candidates and identify the right leader for our program. As I shared with our student-athletes, we will move deliberately but as swiftly as we can in the days ahead.”
