ARLINGTON, Texas — UT Arlington men’s basketball assistant coach Jerrance Howard has been named to Silver Waves Media’s 2026 Most Impactful/Influential Mid-Major Assistant Coaches list.

The eighth annual list, compiled in consultation with industry professionals, recognizes assistant coaches for their impact on their programs through recruiting, player development and coaching. Previous honorees have gone on to become NCAA Division I head coaches.

Howard joined the UTA coaching staff in June 2026 after two seasons at Arizona State under Bobby Hurley, where he helped secure one of the nation’s top-ranked recruiting and transfer classes. The group featured five-star recruit Jayden Quaintance and Top 100 transfers BJ Freeman, Alston Mason and Basheer Jihad.

Howard brings more than 20 years of coaching experience, including stops at Kansas, Texas, Arizona State, Southern Illinois, SMU, Illinois, Texas A&M and Kentucky.

From 2013-21, Howard served on Bill Self’s staff at Kansas, helping the Jayhawks reach eight NCAA Tournaments, one Final Four and three Elite Eights. He also helped Texas assemble the nation’s top-ranked transfer class in 2021-22 under Chris Beard, contributing to a top-five recruiting class and the Longhorns’ first NCAA Tournament victory since 2014.

Howard began his full-time assistant coaching career at Illinois, his alma mater, under Bruce Weber from 2007-12. He also served under Hall of Fame coach Larry Brown at SMU and began his coaching career as a graduate assistant at Texas A&M under Billy Gillispie before briefly joining Kentucky’s staff in 2007.

A nationally recognized recruiter, Howard has recruited or coached numerous future NBA players, including Andrew Wiggins, Joel Embiid, Devonte’ Graham, Josh Jackson, Kelly Oubre Jr., DeAndre Jordan, Patrick Patterson, Meyers Leonard and Emmanuel Mudiay.

As a player at Illinois from 2000-04, Howard was a two-time team captain and helped the Fighting Illini compile a 126-41 record, win three Big Ten championships and make four NCAA Tournament appearances, including an Elite Eight run in 2001.
 

— #BuckEm —
 

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