Josh Pastner

After guiding Memphis to five post-season berths in seven seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Josh Pastner became Georgia Tech’s 14th head basketball coach on April 8, 2016. Georgia Tech compiled a 109-114 record in Pastner’s seven seasons as head coach of the Yellow Jackets. He led the Jackets to three winning seasons, including in 2020-21, when Tech went 17-9 overall, won the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1993 and earned its only NCAA Tournament berth since 2010.

“Coach Pastner has been an incredible ambassador for Georgia Tech, treating others with the utmost respect and wearing his passion on his sleeve,” Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt said. “His genuine care for student-athletes, our men’s basketball program, our athletics department and the Institute is unquestionable. On behalf of the Georgia Tech community, I want to offer my sincere gratitude to Josh, his wife, Kerri, and their family for their service to the Institute. We wish them all of the very best wherever their journey takes them next.”

Pastner has tirelessly promoted the program on campus and throughout the city of Atlanta in an effort to re-create the major homecourt atmosphere that surrounded the Yellow Jackets throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the middle of the 2000s. The result has been numerous wins, high excitement and 13 sellouts in four pre-pandemic seasons at McCamish Pavilion, and a school-record 11 consecutive home ACC wins over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Six of his players – guards Josh Okogie, Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe, as well as frontcourt players Ben Lammers, James Banks III and Moses Wright – have earned ACC honors during his tenure. Wright was named the ACC Player of the Year, Tech’s first since 1990, and Alvarado the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year in the 2020-21 season. Okogie, in particular, developed from an under-the-radar high school prospect into a highly-regarded NBA prospect, having played three years in the league, while Lammers and Banks have gone on to play professionally overseas. Alvarado and Wright, though undrafted following their senior seasons, wound up on NBA rosters in the 2021-22 season.

At-A-Glance

Name:  Josh Pastner  |  Birthdate:  September 26, 1977 in Glen Dale, W.Va.  |  Hometown:  Kingwood, Texas

Family:  Wife Kerri, daughters Payten, Kamryn, Harper, son Cason, stepson Ethan  |  On Tech Staff:  April 8, 2016 until March 10, 2023

Education:  Master’s degree in teaching and teacher education from Arizona in 1999; Bachelor’s degree in family studies from Arizona in 1998

Playing Experience:  Lettered four years at Arizona (1996-2000).

Coaching Experience:  Head coach at Georgia Tech (2016-present), Head coach at Memphis (2009-16); Assistant coach at Memphis (2008-09); Assistant coach at Arizona (2002-08); Video/recruiting coordinator at Arizona (2000-02)

Honors:  ACC Championship (2021); Georgia College Coach of the Year/Atlanta Tipoff Club (2021); ACC Coach of the Year (2017); NABC District 2 Coach of the year (2017); Conference USA Coach of the Year (2010, 2013); Inducted into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association in 2019

Post-Season as a player and coach:  Member of NCAA Championship team at Arizona (1997); Member of two Pac-10 conference championship teams at Arizona as a player, three as a coach; Coached Memphis to four Conference USA tournament and/or regular season titles; Coached Georgia Tech to the 2021 ACC Championship; Coached teams to 14 NCAA Tournament appearances

Introductory press conference  |  A Closer Look at Coach Pastner

Greg Hansen: Josh Pastner has turned Georgia Tech from a wreck into champions — Blue Mountain Eagle, March 15, 2021

Pastner has the ability to blend old-school philosophies with fast-paced, modern societal norms. — Atlanta Jewish Times, June 7, 2017

Cremins recognizes Pastner’s good work at Tech — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 27, 2017

Josh Pastner reflects on Georgia Tech’s ‘surreal’ ACC regular season — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, March 5, 2017

Mike Bobinski looks back at the hiring of Josh Pastner — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 23, 2017

ACC coaches heap praise on Georgia Tech, Josh Pastner — Atlanta Journal-Constitution, February 20, 2017

Michaux: New Georgia Tech basketball coach Josh Pastner has drive, energy – Augusta Chronicle, July 7, 2016

FULL BIO

After guiding Memphis to five post-season berths in seven seasons as the Tigers’ head coach, Josh Pastner became Georgia Tech’s 14th head basketball coach on April 8, 2016. Georgia Tech compiled a 109-114 record in Pastner’s seven seasons as head coach of the Yellow Jackets. He led the Jackets to three winning seasons, including in 2020-21, when Tech went 17-9 overall, won the ACC Tournament for the first time since 1993 and earned its only NCAA Tournament berth since 2010.

“Coach Pastner has been an incredible ambassador for Georgia Tech, treating others with the utmost respect and wearing his passion on his sleeve,” Georgia Tech director of athletics J Batt said. “His genuine care for student-athletes, our men’s basketball program, our athletics department and the Institute is unquestionable. On behalf of the Georgia Tech community, I want to offer my sincere gratitude to Josh, his wife, Kerri, and their family for their service to the Institute. We wish them all of the very best wherever their journey takes them next.”

Implementing a high-energy style of play and creative offensive and defensive schemes, and building the Jackets’ talent base for the future, Pastner has established the Yellow Jackets as one of the top defensive teams in the nation year-in and year-out, while he and his staff have steadily improved the team’s offense to be ranked in the top half of the ACC. Those efforts, as well as improving efforts in recruiting, produced Georgia Tech’s first ACC Championship since 1993 and its first berth in the NCAA Tournament in 11 years in the 2020-21 season.

Pastner has tirelessly promoted the program on campus and throughout the city of Atlanta in an effort to re-create the major homecourt atmosphere that surrounded the Yellow Jackets throughout the 1980s, 1990s and into the middle of the 2000s. The result has been numerous wins, high excitement and 13 sellouts in four pre-pandemic seasons at McCamish Pavilion, and a school-record 11 consecutive home ACC wins over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons.

Six of his players – guards Josh Okogie, Jose Alvarado and Michael Devoe, as well as frontcourt players Ben Lammers, James Banks III and Moses Wright – have earned ACC honors during his tenure. Wright was named the ACC Player of the Year, Tech’s first since 1990, and Alvarado the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year in the 2020-21 season. Okogie, in particular, developed from an under-the-radar high school prospect into a highly-regarded NBA prospect, having played three years in the league, while Lammers and Banks have gone on to play professionally overseas. Alvarado and Wright, though undrafted following their senior seasons, wound up on NBA rosters in the 2021-22 season.

In his fifth year at the helm in 2020-21, Pastner guided Georgia Tech to the ACC Championship, the Yellow Jackets’ first since 1993, and a berth in the NCAA Tournament, the first since 2010. The Jackets also earned their highest regular-season ACC finish and tournament seed (4th for both) since the program’s national-runner-up team in 2004. Tech’s 17-9 overall record was its best by winning percentage since 2004, and its 11-6 ACC record was the fourth-highest by winning percentage in the program’s 42-year history in the conference. Tech achieved its highest rankings under Pastner in such categories as offensive efficiency, scoring, field goal percentage, three-point percentage and fewest turnovers, while maintaining its high level of play on the defensive end of the court.

Tech won its last six ACC regular season games and two ACC Tournament games, an eight-game winning streak that was the longest for the team since 1996. The Jackets won 11 straight ACC games at home over the 2019-20 and 2020-21 seasons, a program record.

Wright was named the ACC Player of the Year, Tech’s first since 1990, and made the All-ACC first-team, while Alvarado was voted the ACC’s Defensive Player of the Year and made the All-ACC second-team. Devoe earned honorable mention All-ACC recognition for the second straight year, and then won the Everett Case Award as the Most Outstanding Player in the ACC Tournament. Pastner was tabbed the Whack Hyder College Coach of the Year in Georgia by the Atlanta Tipoff Club.

That came on the heels of a successful 2019-20 campaign, in which the Yellow Jackets posted a 17-14 record, winning nine of its last 12 games, including six of the last seven. Tech finished with the program’s first winning ACC record since 2004, its highest ACC finish since 2005 (fifth) and its most conference victories (11-9 record) since 1996.

The Jackets ranked No. 17 in the nation in defensive efficiency while finishing ninth in the ACC in scoring against league teams, second in field goal percentage and sixth in three-point percentage. Three players – guards Jose Alvarado (All-ACC third team), Michael Devoe (All-ACC honorable mention) and center James Banks III (ACC All-Defensive team) – earned conference honors.

In his first season at the helm, his Yellow Jacket team defied all pre-season expectations by reaching the post-season and advancing to the finals of the National Invitation Tournament. Tech earned victories over No. 9 North Carolina, No. 6 Florida State and No. 14 Notre Dame (later vacated by the NCAA Committee on Infractions), who all finished among the top four in the ACC regular season. He was named Coach of the Year in the ACC and in NABC District 2.

Two of his players earned all-Atlantic Coast Conference honors; junior center Ben Lammers was named second-team All-ACC and ACC Defensive Player of the Year, while freshman guard Josh Okogie was named to the ACC All-Freshman team.

Though hampered by several significant injuries and other issues in 2017-18, Tech still was able to knock off a pair of top-25 teams while Lammers and Okogie again earned conference honors, and Okogie developed into an NBA first-round draft choice. In 2018-19, the Yellow Jackets picked up three significant road wins – at Arkansas, Syracuse and NC State, each of whom made post-season play.

He was honored in April of 2019 with his induction into the Jewish Sports Heritage Association.

Pastner, 45, spent the first 12 years of his head coaching career as the youngest head coach in his conference, seven at Memphis and five at Georgia Tech (he is now the second youngest in the ACC to new Duke head coach Jon Scheyer). He compiled a 167-73 record over seven seasons at Memphis, where the Tigers earned bids to the NCAA Tournament four times. He was tied for the 10th most wins for a head coach in his first seven seasons in Division I basketball history, and was the second winningest active coach under the age of 40 in NCAA Division I.

Despite his young age, Pastner has been involved in basketball at the Division I level for 21 years, as a player and an assistant coach at Arizona, and as an assistant coach and the head coach at Memphis. He has been a part of teams that have won 541 games, played in 18 NCAA Tournaments and 20 total post-season events. Teams he has been involved with have won 13 conference tournament or regular-season championships, advanced to seven Sweet Sixteens, five Elite Eights, two Final Fours and two NCAA championship games.

As an NCAA head or assistant coach and an AAU head coach, he has coached nearly 25 NBA draft selections.

“I fully understand what it means to be sitting in this chair, what it means to the community and the entire city, and to all the alumni locally and nationally,” said Pastner. “When you’re in coaching, you want to play for a national championship and compete at the highest level. You want to have a championship program year in and year out. I believe that Georgia Tech and the job here is a true gold mine. You have an opportunity to have the highest level of success that you strive for.

“I love Georgia Tech and the time I’ve spent here. The success we have had is a direct result of my staff and the unbelievable job they did, the players who bought in and performed so well, and the fans who gave us the home-court advantage we need. I’m grateful to [Georgia Tech] President [Angel] Cabrera and the administration for the tremendous support we have, and for seeing the big picture and where we want to go as a program.”

Pastner’s Memphis teams averaged 23.9 wins per season and compiled a conference regular-season record of 82-36, including a conference winning streak of 28 games. The Tigers went 11-4 in Conference USA and American Athletic Conference tournaments, including three championships.

He guided Memphis to five post-season berths, the NIT in 2010 and the NCAA Tournament in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014. He became one of three head coaches in Tigers history to earn postseason berths in five of his first seven seasons (Larry Finch, John Calipari are the others), one of two to lead the program to four NCAA Tournaments in his first seven seasons (Dana Kirk is the other) and one of three head coaches in program history to lead the Tigers to four straight NCAA Tournament appearances (2011-14; joins Dana Kirk 1982-85, John Calipari 2006-09).

Pastner twice won Conference USA Coach of the Year honors (2010, 2013) by various organizations and news media. Known as a tireless recruiter, he was named the country’s No. 7 high-major recruiter by FoxSports.com following the 2007-08 season, and has signed five straight nationally-ranked recruiting classes, including the nation’s No. 1 class in 2010 and No. 2 class in 2013.

Pastner was born in Glen Dale, W.Va., and grew up in Kingwood, Texas. He earned his bachelor’s degree in family studies in December of 1998, in just two and a half years, from Arizona and his master’s degree in teaching and teacher education from Arizona in December of 1999, all while lettering four years in basketball for the Wildcats under head coach Lute Olson.

He married the former Kerri Lamas of Sierra Vista, Ariz., in 2009. He has a stepson (Ethan), three daughters, Payten, Kamryn and Harper, and a son, Cason.

““I tried to relax. But my stomach starting turning, and I couldn’t stop it,” he said. “But watching this team play, watching them celebrate now, it’s just fantastic. Unbelievable. It’s brings back so many great memories. I’m thinking of the first time we won, with Mark Price, John Salley …””– former Tech coach Bobby Cremins

“Pastner kept the Jackets on the rails after the 0-2 start and expertly navigated his players through an ever-changing schedule amid the pandemic that caused the postponement of five regular-season games and the cancellation of Friday’s would-be semifinal against Virginia. Along the way, Pastner also helped develop two afterthoughts of recruiting, ACC player of the year Moses Wright and this team’s beating heart, guard Jose Alvarado.” – Jeff Schultz, The Athletic

“For four years it didn’t quite happen for Pastner. Now everything is happening. The job and the ACC no longer seem too big for him. On the contrary: At this moment, he has the best-looking team in the league that regards itself as the nation’s best. Tech isn’t big and isn’t all that deep, but it’s quick and assertive, and it can guard anybody. It’s afraid of nobody.” – Mark Bradley, Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“I thought that the job they did was just phenomenal. I thought Josh, being picked wherever they were, and for him to come out and lose the first two games, and then be where he is
now, a top-four seed in the ACC, just says a lot about the quality of his leadership and his coaching staff, keeping those kids together. And then when you watch them play, they are giving every ounce of ability, effort that they have in their bodies.” – Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton

“They have a system that take advantage of who they are. They play seven, or maybe eight players, most of the year, and I’m sure they’ve had the same aches and pains that most of us have had. But for them. But for them to gut it out and be playing for the championship game says a lot about the coaching staff and the fantastic job that they’ve done, and a lot about the character of the players on the team.”” – Florida State head coach Leonard Hamilton

“Josh (Pastner) has done a great job with his team. They’ve created a great environment. They took another step forward to an NCAA berth, which, that would be great for their program and very well-deserved with the job that he’s done.” – Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski

Pastner’s Head Coaching Record