Report: Louisville 'Closing In' on Charleston's Pat Kelsey

The current head coach at the College of Charleston is reportedly on the verge of heading to the Cardinals.

Mar 21, 2024; Spokane, WA, USA; Charleston Cougars head coach Pat Kelsey during practice at Spokane / James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The University of Louisville's search for a new head men's basketball coach could soon be coming to a close.

UofL is "is closing in on a deal" with College of Charleston head coach Pat Kelsey, according to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman. Louisville and Kelsey have "agreed in principle to a five-year deal," according to ESPN's Pete Thamel.

Should talks not fall through, Kelsey will become the 24th head coach - permanent or interim - in program history, and just the seventh since 1971.

The 48-year-old Kelsey has been one of the top mid-major coaches in college basketball over the last decade, and his last two seasons at Charleston have been some of his best coaching work. The Cougars are 58-11 during this span, clinching back-to-back Coastal Athletic Association regular season and tournament championships in the process. In three years with Charleston, Kelsey is 75-27 overall, including 27-8 this season.

Kelsey spent the first nine years of his head coaching career at Winthrop. During his tenure with the Eagles, he guided them to an 186-95 overall record, as well as four Big South regular season championships and three Big South Tournament championships.

In 2017, Kelsey was set to be named the next head coach at UMass. However, just 35 minutes before the introductory press conference - one he was physically present for - he backed out of the job, citing "personal reasons."

Over the course of his 12 years as a head coach, Kelsey sports a 261-122 overall record, and has secured five berths to the NCAA Tournament - although he holds an 0-4 record (sans the 2020 COVID year). Four of his tickets punched to the Big Dance have come in the last five seasons.

Before becoming a head coach, the Cincinnati, Oh. native had spent the 2009-10 and 2010-11 seasons as an associate head coach at Xavier under then-head coach and former Louisville head coach Chris Mack.

Prior to that, he spent eight seasons in various capacities with Wake Forest. Kelsey was the Demon Deacons' director of basketball operations in his first three seasons in Winston-Salem, then served as an assistant coach for the next five. His first three years as an assistant came under Skip Prosser, then his last two were under former UofL assistant Dino Gaudio, who took over the Demon Deacons following Prosser's death in the summer of 2007.

As a player, Kelsey spent his first season in college out west with Wyoming, before coming home and spending his remaining three seasons with Xavier. After graduating, he stayed in Cincinnati and became an assistant at his alma mater of Elder High School.

(Photo of Pat Kelsey: James Snook - USA TODAY Sports)

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