Eric Daniels - Men's Basketball Assistant Coach - Staff Directory

Staff Directory

Eric Daniels

Title:
Men's Basketball Assistant Coach
Email:
Phone:
801-581-5451

Eric Daniels begins his first season with the University of Utah men’s basketball team in 2025-26 after joining Alex Jensen’s in April of 2025.

Daniels returns to a familiar place on the Hill having spent his childhood inside the Jon M. Huntsman while his father, longtime college coach Donny Daniels, served on Rick Majerus’ staff (1989-2000).

He spent the 2024-25 season up in Logan under Jerrod Calhoun and helped Utah State advance to the NCAA Tournament for the third-straight season this past year before finishing with a 24-6 overall record. The Aggies had the best start in program history this past season, kicking off the year 10-0.

Prior to joining Utah State, Daniels spent five seasons at Weber State (2019-24) on Randy Rahe and Eric Duft’s staff. The Wildcats enjoyed success while Daniels was on staff, finishing in the top-3 for three-consecutive season (2021-23) while also owning the a top-2 defense in the Big Sky during that three-year stretch as well.

From a developmental standpoint, he helped Dillon Jones become just the second player in school history to be selected in the first round of the NBA Draft (No. 26-overall) – joining Damian Lillard. Jones was voted the 2024 Big Sky MVP by the league’s head coaches and was also a unanimous First-Team All-Big Sky selection after averaging 20.8 points, 9.8 rebounds and 5.2 assists as a senior.

In addition, Daniels also helped guide transfers Kobe McEwen (2021-22) and Isiah Brown (2020-21) to back-to-back Big Sky Newcomer of the Year honors. Meanwhile, Southern Illinois transfer Steven Verplancken became a two-time All-Big Sky selection under Daniels’ tutelage.

Daniels got his first opportunity as a Division I assistant coach at Utah Valley (2015-19) as a member of Mark Pope’s staff. During his time there, the Wolverines posted back-to-back 20-win seasons with three-straight postseason tournament appearances – including a program record 25 wins in 2018-19.

He helped Jake Toolson earn the 2019 WAC Player of the Year after the guard went from averaging 3.9 points, 1.6 rebounds and 1.2 assists to averaging 15.7 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists during that historic season for UVU.

Daniels got his start at the collegiate level at Southern Utah (2008-09) where he served as the director of operations for a season. He then moved on to Regis University (2009-14) out of Denver, Colo., for his first assistant coach position before spending the 2014-15 season with the Orlando Magic as a video analyst before joining Utah Valley.

He played college basketball at Johnson & Wales University (2004-08), an NAIA Division II school in Denver. Daniels finished his career as the Wildcats’ leader in scoring (1,191 points) and steals (306). He also helped JWU earn a berth to the 2005 NAIA National Tournament.

Daniels earned his bachelor’s degree in marketing at Johnson & Wales University (Denver) in 2008 and went on to earn his master’s in non-profit management from Regis University in 2012.