SALT LAKE CITY — Utah head coach Alex Jensen added to his staff Thursday with the hiring of former Utah State assistant Eric Daniels to his coaching staff.
Daniels is the son of longtime college coach Donny Daniels, who spent years as an assistant coach at Utah with Rick Majerus (1989-2000) before returning as the team's director of player development under Larry Krystkowiak in 2019.
He is the third hire — and second assistant — named to Jensen's coaching staff, and is another nod to the Majerus era at Utah.
"I couldn't be happier to have Eric join our staff," Jensen said in a statement. "Eric has deep ties to the Runnin' Utes. He's a great player development coach and has been successful at every stop he's had in his career. Eric also has a deep connection and understanding to basketball in the state of Utah that will be instrumental to the future of our program."
Daniels said he's "extremely excited and honored" to join the Utah coaching staff, while adding that he's looking forward to "the challenge of bringing the Runnin' Utes back to NCAA Tournaments and pursue championship."
"Growing up down the road I know what a special place the University of Utah is, and it feels almost surreal being able to come back home and work for a program with such rich tradition," Daniels said.
Daniels spent one season at Utah State as an assistant coach, where the Aggies managed a 26-8 record and NCAA Tournament bid, after a five year tenure as an assistant at Weber State. With the Wildcats, Daniels helped coach Dillon Jones, the Big Sky's most valuable player in 2023-24 and a finalist for the Julius Erving Award.
Prior to his time with Weber State, Daniels also coached at Utah Valley as an assistant after a season with the Orlando Magic inside the basketball operations staff. He also served as an assistant at Southern Utah in what was his first coaching job after a four-year playing career at Johnson & Wales University (NAIA. Division II).
Jensen previously hired assistant Raphael Chillious and general manager Wes Wilcox to his staff.
CBS college basketball reporter Jon Rothstein was the first to report the hire.
