Baker and Eilert comment on him being named interim head coach

West Virginia announced longtime assistant coach Josh Eilert will be named the interim head coach for the 2023-2024 season.

“I would like to thank Wren Baker, President Gee, Rob Alsop, Steve Uryasz and the rest of our administration for believing in me and giving me the opportunity to lead our storied Mountaineer basketball program,” Eilert said. “I would also like to thank Coach Huggins for retaining me on his staff at K-State in 2006 and for bringing me to West Virginia in 2007. I’ve learned so much from Coach Huggins, and it was an honor to work for a Hall of Fame coach for the last 17 years.

“I’m excited about this opportunity to lead the wonderful group of guys that we have in our locker room. They have been working extremely hard on the court, in the weight room and in the classroom since they returned to campus on June 5. In the coming days and weeks, I will be solidifying our roster and getting our team ready to head to Italy later this summer.”

Eilert started on Bob Huggins’ staff at Kansas State before serving under him during his time at West Virginia.

“I would also like to thank my wife, Brandi, and my three children for being incredibly supportive of me during my career,” Eilert said. “My three children were born in Morgantown, and West Virginia is a place we are proud to call home. We love being a part of Mountaineer Nation, and I will continue to put everything I have in seeing our student-athletes succeed on and off the court.”

Director of Athletics Wren Baker faced his biggest hurdle yet over the past week. Baker parted ways with a Hall of Fame head coach and had to replace him in a hard time to hire with it being June.

“I spoke with knowledgeable basketball people around the country over the last week, including coaches, professional basketball executives and others of whom I trust to identify a strong group of candidates to speak with,” Baker said. “Ultimately what I came to recognize, was that conducting this search in late June was difficult for many of our candidates and also it put our talented student-athletes at a real disadvantage. With that said, we will conduct our national search at the conclusion of the 2023-24 season.”

Eilert was one of the top candidates for the current players on WVU’s roster, and his main priority will be to retain as much of the roster as possible.

“Our athletics department will provide Josh, his staff and our student-athletes with a great support system and will do everything we can to ensure a successful season,” Baker said. “Change is never easy and always presents challenges, but I am confident that this is the correct decision at this time. Moving forward and continuing our preparation for the upcoming season is the top priority now for our program.”