_(cropped).jpg) Kelsey in 2023 | |
| Current position | |
|---|---|
| Title | Head coach |
| Team | Louisville |
| Conference | ACC |
| Record | 32–8 (.800) |
| Biographical details | |
| Born | (1975-05-15)May 15, 1975 (age 50) Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S. |
| Playing career | |
| 1993–1994 | Wyoming |
| 1995–1998 | Xavier |
| Position | Point guard |
| Coaching career (HC unless noted) | |
| 1998–2001 | Elder HS (assistant) |
| 2004–2009 | Wake Forest (assistant) |
| 2009–2011 | Xavier (associate HC) |
| 2012–2021 | Winthrop |
| 2021–2024 | Charleston |
| 2024–present | Louisville |
| Administrative career (AD unless noted) | |
| 2001–2004 | Wake Forest (dir. ops) |
| Head coaching record | |
| Overall | 293–130 (.693) |
| Tournaments | 0–5 (NCAA Division I) |
| Accomplishments and honors | |
| Championships | |
| 4xBig South regular season (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021) 3xBig South tournament (2017,2020,2021) 2xCAA regular season (2023, 2024) 2xCAA tournament (2023,2024) | |
| Awards | |
| Big South Coach of the Year (2021) CAA Coach of the Year (2024) ACCCoach of the Year (2025) | |
Patrick Kelsey (born May 15, 1975) is an Americancollege basketball coach. He is the current head men's basketball coach at theUniversity of Louisville. He previously served as head coach for theCollege of Charleston andWinthrop University.
Kelsey played high school basketball atRoger Bacon High School inCincinnati, Ohio. He transferred toElder High School for his senior year and in 1993 helped lead the team to a Division I state title.[1][2] Kelsey began his collegiate career as a freshman guard at theUniversity of Wyoming. He transferred toXavier in 1994 where he played three seasons.
Kelsey began his career as an assistant coach atWake Forest University and laterXavier University. During his time as an assistant coach, his teams earned anACC regular season championship, five NCAA Tournament berths, an NIT berth, and a No. 1 national ranking in two different seasons. In 2010, College Bound Hoops ranked Kelsey eighth in the nation among college basketball assistants.[3]Chris Mack, formerA-10 andBig East Championship head coach, considered him to be one of the best assistant coaches in America.
As an assistant at Wake Forest, Kelsey coached a number of players who went on to have successful professional basketball careers, including NBA All-StarsChris Paul andJeff Teague.[4] He coachedIsh Smith, an All-ACC selection and player for theHouston Rockets,James Johnson, a two-time All-ACC selection and 17th overall draft pick by theChicago Bulls in the 2009 NBA Draft, andAl-Farouq Aminu, a McDonald's All-America who was drafted eighth overall by theL.A. Clippers in the 2010 NBA Draft.[5]
As head coach atWinthrop University, Kelsey resurrected a winning tradition and became one of the winningest coaches in the history of theBig South Conference (ranked 2nd all-time with 110 conference wins). During his nine seasons, no other Big South program had more conference wins or wins overall. The program made four straight Big South Conference tournament title games (2014–17) and the Eagles claimed the 2017, 2020, and 2021 Big South Conference Championships. The2016–17 Eagles claimed a share of the Big South regular season championship and defeated theCampbell Fighting Camels in the title game to earn Winthrop’s 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament.
In 2017, Kelsey was hired as the head coach atMassachusetts, but returned to Winthrop two days after accepting the position, citing personal reasons. Kelsey informed UMass Athletic Director Ryan Bamford of his decision 25 minutes before the scheduled press conference to formally introduce Kelsey to the press and university community. Two days prior, Kelsey had signed anMoU with the university, which included a $1 million buyout clause should Kelsey leave before two years.[6][7][8]
Kelsey's2019–20 Eagles team secured the Big South regular season championship and defeated theHampton Pirates in the conference championship game to earn what would have been Winthrop's 11th trip to the NCAA tournament. However, the 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic. The2020–21 Eagles started the season 16–0 and had a cumulative 21-game winning streak dating back to the prior season, which were both program records. They defeated Campbell in the conference tournament to earn their 11th NCAA Tournament bid. Following the season, Kelsey was named a finalist for theJim Phelan Award (national coach of the year) and theSkip Prosser Man of the Year Award.[9]
Under Kelsey, the program broke multiple school records and produced some of the best players in its history, includingKeon Johnson, Winthrop's all-time leading scorer,[10] andXavier Cooks, Winthrop's all time leading rebounder and shot-blocker.[11]
On March 25, 2021, Kelsey announced that he was leaving Winthrop to become head coach at theCollege of Charleston.[12]
Over three seasons Kelsey led the Cougars to a 75–27 (.735) record, including a 31-win season in 2022–23, a record high for the program.[13] The2022–23 Cougars won the localCharleston Classic Tournament for the first time in program history, entered theAP Top 25 for the first time in two decades, went on a 20-game win streak to defeat rivalUNC Wilmington in the2023 CAA Tournament, and eventually fell to National Runner-UpSan Diego State in the2023 NCAA Tournament.[14][15] For these efforts Kelsey was namedUSBWA Coach of the Year for District Three andNABC Coach of the Year for District Ten, a feat he would repeat in 2024.[16][17][18]
Kelsey's2023–24 Cougars went back-to-back as outright CAA Regular Season Champions and2024 CAA Tournament Championships, eventually falling to Final Four TeamAlabama in the2024 NCAA Tournament. His 58 wins were the most in program history by a Cougars head coach over the course of two seasons, and he was the program's fastest head coach to reach 50 wins, doing so against Coastal Carolina on November 19, 2023.[19] His 75th win was also his last for the Cougars, an overtime triumph againstStony Brook in the Championship Game of the CAA Tournament.[20] Kelsey was named theCoastal Athletic Association Coach of the Year on March 7, 2024.[21]
On March 28, 2024, Kelsey was named the head men's basketball coach atLouisville, agreeing to a five-year contract.[22]
In his first year, Kelsey took Louisville, which had been last place in the ACC in the previous 2 seasons, to an 18–2 conference record, and a second place finish.[23] He led the Cardinals to numerous milestones, including their first victory at rivalVirginia since 1990 on January 4, 2025, and a return to theAP Top 25 for the first time since 2021, ultimately finishing the regular season ranked No. 10 nationally.[24][25] At the end of the season Kelsey was namedACC Coach of the Year and led Louisville back to theNCAA tournament for the first time since 2019.[26]
In December 2012, after a game against Ohio State, Kelsey gave an impassioned speech about theSandy Hook Elementary school shooting that had occurred just days prior. During the game's press conference, Kelsey spoke out about the tragedy and said "Parents, teachers, rabbis, priests, coaches, everybody needs to step up. This has to be a time for change.”[27]
After a clip of the conference aired on ESPN, parents of a victim of the shooting reached out to Kelsey. He later participated in an event (Race4Chase triathlon) put on by the CMAK Sandy Hook Memorial Foundation. The family was honored at an Eagles basketball game on March 1, 2014. At the game, each Winthrop player wore the name of a child killed at Sandy Hook on the back of their jersey.[28]
| Season | Team | Overall | Conference | Standing | Postseason | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winthrop Eagles(Big South Conference)(2012–2021) | |||||||||
| 2012–13 | Winthrop | 14–17 | 6–10 | 5th(South) | |||||
| 2013–14 | Winthrop | 20–13 | 10–6 | T–2nd(South) | |||||
| 2014–15 | Winthrop | 19–13 | 12–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2015–16 | Winthrop | 23–9 | 13–5 | T–1st | |||||
| 2016–17 | Winthrop | 26–7 | 15–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2017–18 | Winthrop | 19–12 | 12–6 | T–2nd | |||||
| 2018–19 | Winthrop | 18–12 | 10–6 | T–3rd | |||||
| 2019–20 | Winthrop | 24–10 | 15–3 | T–1st | NCAA Division ICanceled* | ||||
| 2020–21 | Winthrop | 23–2 | 17–1 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Winthrop: | 186–95 (.662) | 110–46 (.705) | |||||||
| Charleston Cougars(Coastal Athletic Association)(2021–2024) | |||||||||
| 2021–22 | Charleston | 17–15 | 8–10 | 6th | |||||
| 2022–23 | Charleston | 31–4 | 16–2 | T–1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2023–24 | Charleston | 27–8 | 15–3 | 1st | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| Charleston: | 75–27 (.735) | 39–15 (.722) | |||||||
| Louisville Cardinals(Atlantic Coast Conference)(2024–present) | |||||||||
| 2024–25 | Louisville | 27–8 | 18–2 | T–2nd | NCAA Division I Round of 64 | ||||
| 2025–26 | Louisville | 6–0 | |||||||
| Louisville: | 33–8 (.805) | 18–2 (.900) | |||||||
| Total: | 294–130 (.693) | ||||||||
*The2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to concerns over theCOVID-19 pandemic.