STARKVILLE – Patrice Days, one of the nation’s up-and-coming coaches, has been named the Director of Recruiting for Mississippi State’s men’s basketball program announced Monday by head coach Chris Jans.

Days has already gained valuable coaching experience with nearly a decade of service as an assistant coach at the NCAA Division I level. He has played an integral role in several aspects for all the program’s he has worked for which include player development, scouting and recruiting.

Days spent the 2021-22 season at East Tennessee State on Desmond Oliver’s staff and worked at Coastal Carolina for Cliff Ellis from 2017-21 where the Chanticleers captured a pair of postseason berths and a trip to the 2021 CBI Finals.

“We were able to finish our staff with the perfect fit in Patrice Days,” Jans said. “Coach Days is known for his relationships which have helped him become a relentless recruiter while earning praise for the depth of his connections with the players he’s coached during his career. We are elated Coach Days will be joining our Bulldog staff.”

During his Coastal Carolina tenure, Days saw the Chanticleers become a staple among the NCAA leaders in rebounding and defensive categories.

Coastal Carolina ranked among the NCAA’s top 30 three times in rebounds per game, three times in rebounding margin, twice in field goal percentage defense, twice in offensive rebounds per game and once in steals per game.

The 2020-21 season was highlighted by top 10 marks in rebounds (43.5 – 2nd), rebounding margin (+9.9 – 3rd), defensive rebounds (29.9 – 4th), offensive rebounds (13.5 – 6th) and field goal percentage defense (39.0 – 7th).

Days’ top recruit with the Chanticleers was DeVante’ Jones, a 1,000-point scorer, who captured the 2020-21 Sun Belt Player of the Year accolades. He also was a Lou Henson Player of the Year finalist, which is presented annually to the nation’s top mid-major player.

Days made a pair of one-year stops at Wright State (2015-16) and Southern Utah (2016-17). He earned his first NCAA I assistant coaching job at Abilene Christian (2013-15) where he spent two seasons as the program’s recruiting coordinator.

Day possesses experience at the prep level where he was an assistant coach under Rex Morgan at the highly accomplished Arlington Country Day School (2012-13) in Jacksonville, Florida and at Vermont Academy (2011-12) located in Saxtons River, Vermont.

Days got started in the coaching profession as a graduate assistant at his alma mater, New Orleans (2009-10) before he moved onto Charlotte (2010-11) as a Director of Player Development.

Days has Mississippi roots as prep player at Piney Woods High School. His collegiate playing career included stops at Southern University in Baton Rouge, Louisiana and Caldwell Community College in Hudson, North Carolina before he returned to Louisiana at the University of New Orleans.

Days graduated from New Orleans with a degree in interdisciplinary studies with a double minor in business and education in 2010.

Fans can purchase season tickets through Mississippi State’s Athletic Ticket Office starting as low as $155 at www.HailState.com/tickets or by calling (662) 325-2600 for the program’s much-anticipated first season under Chris Jans.

Mississippi State’s 2022-23 non-conference schedule also features a SEC/Big 12 Challenge matchup with TCU, a consensus top 25 preseason pick, on Saturday, January 28 at Humphrey Coliseum. The Bulldogs also have a return trip slated at Minnesota on Sunday, December 11. State is joined by Georgia Tech, Marquette and Utah at the 2022 Fort Myers Tipoff from November 21-23.

The Maroon and White also has learned its 2022-23 SEC opponents. State will welcome 2022 NCAA postseason participants Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee and Texas A&M in addition to Missouri, Ole Miss and South Carolina to Humphrey Coliseum.

Visit www.HailState.com for the latest news and information on the men’s basketball program. Fans also can follow the program on its social media outlets by searching ‘HailStateMBK’ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.