Josh Pastner Takes Over For Kevin Kruger As UNLV Men's Basketball Coach

The UNLV Runnin' Rebels have turned to former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner.

Mark Morales-Smith | Mar 25, 2025

Former Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach Josh Pastner reacts in the second half of the first round of the ACC Tournament at Greensboro Coliseum. / Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

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UNLV Runnin' Rebels

UNLV Director of Athletics Erick Harper has announced that Josh Pastner will be the new head coach of the Runnin' Rebels men's basketball team. The long-time Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets head coach will be officially introduced to the UNLV Community on Wednesday, March 26 at 10 a.m. local time in Thomas & Mack Center's Strip View Pavilion. However, he has already made a statement about what it means to him to be the new head coach of the Rebels:

Welcome to Las Vegas, @CoachJPastner 🎰

📰: https://t.co/3wNF6tXuPe pic.twitter.com/e9dw94G6w3
— UNLV Men's Basketball (@TheRunninRebels) March 25, 2025

"I want to express my heartfelt gratitude to UNLV Officer in Charge Dr. Chris Heavey and Athletics Director Erick Harper for this incredible opportunity," Pastner said. "I am truly enthused about becoming the head coach of the Runnin' Rebels. This has always been a dream job for me, and I fully recognize the significance of UNLV in the landscape of college basketball. The program holds great importance for both the Las Vegas community and the region, and I am eager to unite Rebel Nation with the goal of restoring the program to national prominence."

Pastner made it clear that this is where he wanted to be, here in Las Vegas. It will now be his job to rebuild a struggling Rebels basketball program, which could be in store for a full rebuild after many of their stars entered the transfer portal after the firing of former head coach Kevin Kruger. The higher-ups at UNLV clearly believe in Pastner's ability to build this program into a legitimate NCAA Tournament team that can sit at the top of the new-look Mountain West Conference. They believe in him with good reason, too after seeing all his success in the ACC. It may take a few seasons, but there is no reason not to believe that he can bring this program back to prominence and rebuild it better to a higher level than it's been at in a very long time.

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