Report: Georgia Tech Fires Head Basketball Coach Josh Pastner

Georgia Tech will be searching for a new head basketball coach

Georgia Tech is moving on from head coach Josh Pastner according to Jeff Goodman at Stadium. 

Georgia Tech has parted ways with Josh Pastner, source told @Stadium.

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 10, 2023

The news was also confirmed by other reporters plugged into the situation. 

Josh Pastner has been dismissed as coach at Georgia Tech after seven seasons, according to a person familiar with the situation. reported first by @GoodmanHoops.

— Ken Sugiura (@ksugiuraajc) March 10, 2023

#GaTech head men's basketball coach Josh Pastner is out. He will be informed later this afternoon per sources. https://t.co/wRfQQJgz0P

— Kelly Quinlan (@Kelly_Quinlan) March 10, 2023

Pastner has been the head coach of the Yellow Jackets since the 2016 season, but new athletic director J Batt has decided that it is time for a change. 

This team had gotten better since the beginning of February and did end the season as one of the hottest teams in the ACC, but that was not enough to save his job. 

Batt has already had to make one major coaching hire (Brent Key) and is going to need to find the right person to come in and help get Georgia Tech back to winning. 

During his first season in Atlanta (2016-2017), Pastner was the ACC Coach of the Year after guiding the Yellow Jackets to a 21-16 record (8-10). Tech was picked to finish last in the conference, but Pastner guided them to a solid first season. Tech finished as the NIT runner-up. 

Over the next two seasons, Pastner went 13-19 and 14-18 but did improve to 17-14 during the 2019-2020 season, but that season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

It looked as if the breakthrough was coming during Pastner's next season. The Yellow Jackets won the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1993, Moses Wright was named the ACC Player of the Year, and Jose Alvarado was the ACC's Defensive Player of the Year. This program seemed to be on the upswing, but things went downhill after Wright and Alvarado left. 

Josh Pastner is no longer the coach at Georgia Tech / Georgia Tech Athletics

Pastner went 12-20 last season and this season was a disaster until the past month. Georgia Tech endured a nine-game losing streak and was at the bottom of the ACC Standings. The past month was a big bright spot for Tech, as they improved their play and entered the ACC Tournament on a three-game winning streak. That was not enough however and Georgia Tech will be looking for a new leader for the program.

ESPN's Jeff Borzello recently wrote a comprehensive guide to the college basketball hot seat this season and had different categories for programs. There were (1) jobs that were already open, (2) jobs trending towards coming open, (3) jobs to watch, and (4) jobs where the coach gets one more season. Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner found himself in the second category.

Here is what Borzello had to say about Pastner and his future at Georgia Tech:

"Another coach who started his tenure in impressive fashion, Josh Pastner won ACC Coach of the Year in 2017 and also went to the NCAA tournament in 2021 after winning the ACC tournament. But he went 12-20 (5-15 in the ACC) last season and was 11-16 (3-3) entering the week this season. Pastner does have a decent amount of money left on his contract, which runs until 2026, but Tech should be able to come up with the buyout. There's a long list of names linked to the job, with Tulane's Ron Hunter gathering some steam. Furman's Bob Richey and Charleston's Pat Kelsey are two other possibilities."

Stay tuned for more updates from the Georgia Tech basketball coaching search. 

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