Erik Pastrana was named an associate coach for the Miami men’s basketball program in April of 2025.
Pastrana joined the Hurricanes after spending the past three seasons as an assistant coach at Georgia, playing a pivotal role in the Bulldogs’ improved success over the last three years.
The Bulldogs recorded 20-win seasons in two of the three years Pastrana was on staff and made their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2015 this past season. Pastrana coached a pair of SEC All-Freshman Team honorees in Asa Newell (2025) and Silas Demary Jr. (2024).
In his first year on staff at Georgia, Pastrana helped the Bulldogs increase their regular-season win total by 10 victories from 2021-22 to 2022-23.
Prior to his time at Georgia, Pastrana spent one season on Mike White’s staff at Florida, assisting the Gators to a 20-14 overall record and an NIT berth.
Pastrana’s previous Division I stops include Oklahoma State, Florida Atlantic, Florida International and Stephen F. Austin.
From 2019-21, Pastrana served as an assistant coach and recruiting coordinator at Oklahoma State under Mike Boynton.
Pastrana was an instrumental part of the Cowboys signing the No. 4 recruiting class in the country in 2020, a class that was anchored by Cade Cunningham, who went on to be the first overall pick in the 2021 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons. While at Oklahoma State, Cunningham earned 2021 Big 12 Player of the Year and first-team All-America honors.
In 2021, the Cowboys advanced to the finals of the Big 12 Tournament, earned a No. 4 seed in the NCAA Tournament and ended the year ranked No. 11 by the Associated Press – all firsts since 2005. Oklahoma State’s first-round win in the NCAA Tournament was its first since 2009.
A Miami native, Pastrana spent the three years prior to his time at Oklahoma State in his home state of Florida, serving as an assistant coach at Florida Atlantic (2018-19), head coach at Daytona State College (2017-18) and an assistant coach at FIU (2016-17). As a head coach, Pastrana led the Falcons to a 19-12 record and had four players named to the Mid-Florida All-Conference Team.
Pastrana earned his first Division I assistant coach opportunity at Stephen F. Austin where he spent three seasons on Brad Underwood’s staff. During his tenure in Nacogdoches, Texas, the Lumberjacks produced three straight Southland Players of the Years and made three consecutive NCAA Tournament appearances.
Pastrana’s first foray into college basketball began at Kansas State where he worked as a graduate assistant under Frank Martin from 2007-09. During his two years at Kansas State, the Wildcats won 21 games each season, earned a pair of postseason bids, notched their first NCAA Tournament win in a decade in 2008 and saw freshman Michael Beasley selected with the No. 2 overall pick in the 2008 NBA Draft.
Following his time in Manhattan, Kan., Pastrana worked as an assistant coach at Labette Community College in Kansas (2011-12) and Northwest Florida State College (2012-13). At NWFSC, Pastrana helped lead the Raiders to a 30-4 record and an appearance in the NJCAA National Championship game.
Pastrana, a Florida native and member of the Latino Association of Basketball Coaches, earned a bachelor’s degree in history from Florida State in 2007 and a master’s degree in counseling and student development from Kansas State in 2009. He is engaged to marry Brooke Di Orio in May 2025.
