UTEP men’s basketball coach Joe Golding has added a pair of assistant coaches for the upcoming 2026-27 season in veterans Patrice Days and Joseph Jones.
Furthermore, Drew Lakey has been promoted to a full-time assistant coach.
UTEP will be competing in the Mountain West Conference after moving over from Conference USA.
Who is Patrice Days?
Days has more than a decade of coaching experience, including spending two seasons with Golding at Abilene Christian from 2014-15. He joins the Miners following four years with Mississippi State (2022-26), with the Bulldogs enjoying three consecutive 21-win campaigns and a trio of appearances in the NCAA Tournament in that span.
Days, one of the nation’s up-and-coming coaches, helped the Bulldogs make three consecutive NCAA Tournaments for the first time since 2002-05 and just the third occasion in program history.
Who is Joseph Jones?
Jones ventures to the Sun City after showing his versatile skillset and ability both with Tarleton State and at UT-San Antonio. In 2023-24, Jones was thrust into acting head coach after Billy Gillispie stepped down because of medical circumstances after just four games. Gillispie is a former UTEP head coach, who guided the Miners from 2002-04.
Jones proceeded to go 23-8 (16-4 in WAC) to help the Texans finish with a school-record 25 wins. They made their first WAC Semifinals appearance and advanced to the CIT Semifinals, their furthest postseason run at the DI level. He was tabbed the WAC Coach of the Year after tallying the second-most wins of all first-year DI head coaches in ’23-24. Tarleton also had a school-record 10-game winning streak and claimed its most postseason honors in program history.
Who is Drew Lakey?
Prior to joining the UTEP staff last year, Lakey was part of a historic season at Ole Miss that culminated with a trip to the 2025 NCAA Tournament Sweet 16. He will have added responsibilities in his second year with the program.
Felix F. Chavez can be reached at fchavez@elpasotimes.com; @Fchavezeptimes on X
This article originally appeared on El Paso Times: Joe Golding hires 2 assistants to UTEP men’s basketball coaching staff
Reporting by Felix F. Chavez, El Paso Times / El Paso Times
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By Felix F. Chavez, El Paso Times | USA TODAY Network
