Silas Mills enters his second season as Director of Player Development for Utah Valley University men’s basketball.
Mills brings more than 15 years of coaching experience and a decorated 14-year professional playing career to the Wolverines. In his first season at Utah Valley in 2025–26, he helped the Wolverines to a 25-9 overall record, a 14-4 mark in WAC play, and a second straight outright Western Athletic Conference regular-season championship.
Utah Valley earned the No. 1 seed in the WAC Tournament, advanced to the championship game for the second consecutive season, and made its second straight appearance in the National Invitation Tournament. The season also marked the first time in program history the Wolverines posted back-to-back 25-win seasons.
The Wolverines ranked among the nation’s best in several statistical categories in 2025–26, finishing sixth nationally in steals per game (9.4), seventh in assists per game (18.5), seventh in turnovers forced per game (15.24), ninth in blocks per game (5.4), 11th in field goal percentage (.501), and 23rd in scoring margin (+11.4). Utah Valley also finished with the highest NCAA NET ranking in the WAC at No. 85 and the league’s top KenPom ranking at No. 91.
Utah Valley also rewrote the program record book offensively, setting single-season school records for assists (630), assists per game (18.5), scoring average (80.1 points per game), and field goal percentage (.501). The Wolverines scored 2,724 points, the second-most in a season in program history.
Mills also helped with the development of a group that produced several record-setting individual performances. Trevan Leonhardt set the program’s single-season assists record with 205 and finished his UVU career as the all-time leader in steals with 160 and second in career assists with 419. Jackson Holcombe set the program’s single-season steals record with 75 while averaging 16.0 points per game. Leonhardt and Holcombe each earned First Team All-WAC, WAC All-Defensive Team, and WAC All-Tournament Team honors.
Before joining Utah Valley, Mills coached at both the college and high school levels, most recently serving as Director of Operations and head coach for BC Elite Basketball Club in Arizona. He also spent two seasons as head coach at American Leadership Academy Queen Creek High School, leading the Patriots to a winning record.
His collegiate coaching experience includes assistant coach roles at Salt Lake Community College and Garden City Community College. During his time at SLCC, he helped guide the Bruins to multiple NJCAA Tournament berths, including the program’s first national championship in 2016.
As a player, Mills began his career at the University of Utah before transferring to Salt Lake Community College, where he played under legendary head coach Norm Parrish. He was instrumental in helping the Bruins to their first NJCAA Tournament appearance and a top-five national ranking. He later transferred to Utah State University, where he played under head coach Larry Eustachy and helped the Aggies to a Big West Conference championship.
Mills went on to enjoy a successful professional career with stops in Greece, Italy, Spain, Argentina, Turkey, and France, in addition to playing for the Yakima Sun Kings of the CBA, where he was named Finals MVP in 2000. His honors include Big West First Team recognition in 1995–96, All-CBA First Team honors in 2000, and CBA Playoff MVP.
Mills holds an associate degree from Lassen College and a bachelor’s degree in interdisciplinary studies from Utah State University. He and his wife have two daughters.
