Josh Pierre begins his fourth season with the Elon men's basketball program at the start the 2022-23 season, his first as the program's director of video scouting and recruiting operations. Prior to this 2022-23, Pierre was the Phoenix's video coordinator.
The 2021-22 year was the third for Pierre at Elon. Pierre assisted with maintaining Elon’s defensive success from the previous season, helping the unit finish third in the CAA in field goal percentage defense (43.3%). He also aided in coaching two student-athletes to all-conference honors in Hunter McIntosh (Scholar Athlete of the Year; 3rd Team) and Darius Burford (3rd Team).
The 2020-21 season marked the second for Pierre, as he played a key role in helping guide the Phoenix to a 10-9 overall record and an appearance to the program's first ever CAA Tournament Championship game. Pierre assisted with helping Elon's defense improve to the top unit in the CAA and a top-50 group in the nation, holding opponents to just 65.0 points per game, a 6.7 point improvement from the 2019 season. He also aided with guiding two student-athletes to all-conference honors in Hunter McIntosh (2nd Team) and Darius Burford (All-Rookie), as well as the development of eventual NBA G-League Draft Pick Ikenna Ndugba (Greensboro Swarm).
In his first season with the team in 2019-20 under head coach Mike Schrage, Elon made an appearance in its first ever CAA Tournament Semifinals round. Additionally, Pierre helped coach three student-athletes to postseason honors in Marcus Sheffield (2nd Team), Hunter Woods (All-Rookie) and Hunter McIntosh (Rookie of the Year).
While on staff at Mississippi State, the Bulldogs broke a decade long drought and returned to the NCAA Tournament under head coach Ben Howland. The team notched a 23-11 record and earned a No. 5 seed, the program's best seed in the Big Dance since 2004. Additionally, Pierre played a key role in assisting with the development of five eventual NBA players in Quinndary Weatherspoon, Reggie Perry, Robert Woodard, DJ Stewart and Aric Holeman.
Prior to MSU, Pierre began his coaching career at his alma mater, Arkansas State. In the 2016-17 season while serving as a graduate assistant under Grant McCasland, the Red Wolves made a 10-win improvement, marking the second-best turnaround in Division I that year. He was later promoted to Director of Scouting in 2017-18 by Mike Balado.
Pierre was a four-year letterwinner for the Red Wolves from 2013-16 under head coach John Brady. Arkansas State captured the 2013 Sun Belt Conference Western Division during his freshman season and compiled consecutive 19-win seasons for the first time in 24 years. He competed in 44 games and led the nation in walk-on minutes per game (13.2) during conference play in 2015-16.
In addition to being named to the Sun Belt Academic Honor Roll, Athletic Director's Honor Roll and Dean's List, he was voted 'Best Teammate' by his teammates and coaching staff each season as a student-athlete, as well as being a team captain.
Pierre graduated from Arkansas State with a B.S. in Sports Management. He is a Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity Alumni and served as the fraternity's Spiritual Chair each year as a member. He also was a recipient of the Dr. Warren and Lu L. Nedrow Scholarship for Distinguished Alumni.
Pierre is the son of Butch and Clemmie Pierre. His father possesses more than three decades of coaching experience with stops at LSU, Oklahoma State, N.C. State, Charlotte, Memphis and UTEP. He is currently an assistant coach at Wichita State University. His twin brother, Joe, is currently an assistant coach at Liberty. His mother is a graduate of Kentucky, while his sister Langley, completed her Ph.D in Educational Leadership and Research at LSU. Pierre comes to Elon with his wife, Erin, who competed in Cross Country at Arkansas State prior to graduating with her Masters degree in Sports Administration, and their two dogs, Hope and Grace.
