Patrice Days was named an assistant coach for the UTEP men's basketball team in June of 2026.
Days has more than a decade of coaching experience, including spending two seasons (2013-15) with head coach Joe Golding at Abilene Christian. 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. He has gained valuable coaching experience in his decade-plus of work as an assistant coach at the NCAA DI level. He has held an important role in numerous aspects for every program he has been a part of, including player development, scouting and recruiting. After spending two seasons as a director of recruiting for MSU, he was elevated to assistant coach for the past two campaigns.
State cracked the AP top 25 each of his first three seasons at the school, including vaulting to as high as No. 14 in 2024-25. The Bulldogs knocked off 10 top-25 programs in that timeframe, the most such triumphs during a three-year span in program annals. He secured ESPN top 100 recruit, Jayden Epps, from the transfer portal for the 2025-26 season. Epps teamed up with Josh Hubbard to be the school’s top scoring duo in more than four decades. He also served as the lead recruiter for 2026-27 commit, Willie Burnett III, who rated No. 74 in ESPN’s Class of 2026. Days also recruited and developed Jimmy Bell, RJ Melendez and Claudell Harris Jr. to State.
Days also spent a year (2021-22) with East Tennessee State, which he joined after an impressive four-year run with Coastal Carolina (2017-21) with Cliff Ellis (No. 15 all time in NCAA for wins with 831). The Chanticleers went to the postseason twice, including surging to the finals of the 2021 CBI. The program thrived in several areas with his influence, rating within the top 30 nationally for rebounds per game and rebounding margin three times and doing so twice for field-goal percentage defense and offensive boards per game.
In 2021 the squad ranked in the top 10 in the country for rebounds (43.5-second), rebounding margin (+9.9-third), defensive boards (29.9-fourth), offensive rebounding (13.5-sixth) and field-goal percentage defense (39.0-seventh). He demonstrated his recruiting prowess through landing DeVante’ Jones, who finished as a 1,000-point scorer and was named the 2021 Sun Belt Player of the Year. He also was a Lou Henson Player of the Year finalist, which is presented annually to the nation’s top mid-major player
Days had a pair of one-year stops at Wright State (2015-16) and Southern Utah (2016-17). He helped the Raiders finish at 22-13 and make a run to the championship game in the Horizon League Tournament. He broke into the DI level with Golding at ACU (2013-15), serving as his recruiting coordinator to help lay the foundation for future success for the Wildcats.
Days also has experience at the prep level, working at Arlington Country Day School (2012-13) in Jacksonville, Fla., and at Mack Prep (2011-12) in Charlotte, N.C. His coaching career began with him as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, New Orleans (2009-10) before venturing to Charlotte (2010-11) as a director of player development.
Days averaged nine points and six boards as a senior for Piney Woods HS (Piney Woods, Miss). He started his collegiate career at Southern University before dealing with an injury. He also competed at Caldwell Community College before wrapping things up at New Orleans.
He graduated from New Orleans with a degree in interdisciplinary studies in addition to a double minor in business and education in 2010.
