On Tuesday, UNLV announced that Josh Pastner would be replacing Kevin Kruger as the head coach of their men’s basketball program.
Pastner has enjoyed some level of success at the highest levels of college basketball. He started his head coaching career with Memphis in 2009, taking the Tigers to four NCAA tournament appearances and two conference championships in seven seasons. Pastner was hired by Georgia Tech in 2016 and, while he did achieve quite as highly in the ACC, he still led the Yellow Jackets to their one NCAA tournament appearance (2021) in the last 15 seasons.
On Wednesday, Pastner was introduced to the university and its fans as their new coach, and he wasted no time in laying out his plan for the future of the Runnin’ Rebels.
Pastner set the expectation high for himself during his introductory press conference.
“This was the ultimate job. And when this became open, my motor, which runs a lot, was at even another level,” said Pastner during his press conference.
“It’s my responsibility to get the program back to competing for NCAA tournaments, competing for championships and winning championships. That’s what I’m here for, and that’s what I want to do.”
For a program that has seen sustainable success elude them such as UNLV, simply making it to the NCAA tournament is a step in the right direction.
The Runnin’ Rebels have not participated in the NCAA tournament since 2013 under former head coach Dave Rice. They have also not gone into the second weekend of the tournament since 2007, when Lon Kruger coached UNLV to the Sweet 16. Pastner’s ambition to bring UNLV back to prominence is certainly endearing to fans, who are anxious to see this recent drought end.
“It’s a sleeping giant, this job,” Pastner said. “It’s an absolute sleeping giant. And again, I understand what it’s gonna take to get it back.”
While UNLV is hoping to re-establish themselves on the national level, the Mountain West as a whole might be dependent on Pastner hitting his goals.
In 2026, the Mountain West conference is set for a massive shakeup, with five major programs (San Diego State, Colorado State, Boise State, Utah State, Fresno State) leaving to join the resurgent PAC-12. While the conference is receiving some reinforcements to their ranks with Grand Canyon, UC-Davis, Hawaii and UTEP, legacy programs such as UNLV will be required to keep the Mountain West in national relevance. In order to succeed, Pastner might have to work quickly to fulfill his goals.
If Pastner turns out to be a home run hire, UNLV and the Mountain West will be much better off for it.
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