Pat Kelsey

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Pat Kelsey
Pat Kelsey.jpg
Current position
TitleHead coach
TeamCollege of Charleston
ConferenceCAA
Record13–9 (.591)
Biographical details
Born (1975-05-15) May 15, 1975 (age 46)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Playing career
1993–1994Wyoming
1995–1998Xavier
Position(s)Point guard
Coaching career (HC unless noted)
1998–2001Elder HS (assistant)
2004–2009Wake Forest (assistant)
2009–2012Xavier (associate HC)
2012–2021Winthrop
2021–presentCollege of Charleston
Administrative career (AD unless noted)
2001–2004Wake Forest (dir. ops)
Head coaching record
Overall199–104 (.657)
Tournaments0–2 (NCAA Division I)
Accomplishments and honors
Championships
4 Big South regular season (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021)
3 Big South Tournament (2017, 2020, 2021)
Awards
Big South Coach of the Year (2021)

Patrick Kelsey (born May 15, 1975) is an American college basketball coach. He is the current head men's basketball coach at the College of Charleston.

Playing career[]

Kelsey played high school basketball at Roger Bacon High School in Cincinnati, OH. He transferred to Elder 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 the University of Wyoming. He transferred to Xavier in 1994 where he played three seasons.

Coaching career[]

Kelsey began his career as an assistant coach at Wake Forest University and later Xavier University. During his time as an assistant coach, his teams earned an ACC 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] He was sought after by some of America's top programs and has been a candidate for multiple head coaching positions. Chris Mack, former A-10 and Big East Championship head coach, considered him to be one of the best assistant coaches in America.

As head coach at Winthrop University, Kelsey resurrected a winning tradition and became one of the winningest coaches in the history of the Big 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. The 2017 team claimed a share of the Big South regular season championship and then defeated Campbell University to earn Winthrop’s 10th trip to the NCAA Tournament. In 2020, the team secured the Big South regular season championship and defeated Hampton University 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 cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2021, the 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 the Jim Phelan Award (national coach of the year) and the Skip Prosser Man of the Year Award.[4]

Under Kelsey, the program broke multiple school records and produced some of the best players in its history, including Keon Johnson, Winthrop's all-time leading scorer,[5] and Xavier Cooks, Winthrop's all time leading rebounder and shot-blocker.[6]

On March 25, 2021, Kelsey announced that he was leaving Winthrop to become head coach at the College of Charleston.[7]

Kelsey has coached a number of players who went on to have successful professional basketball careers, including NBA All-Stars Chris Paul and Jeff Teague.[8]He coached Ish Smith, an All-ACC selection and player for the Houston Rockets, James Johnson, a two-time All-ACC selection and 17th overall draft pick by the Chicago Bulls in the 2009 NBA Draft, and Al-Farouq Aminu, a McDonald's All-America who was drafted eighth overall by the L.A. Clippers in the 2010 NBA Draft.[9]

Newtown speech at Ohio State[]

In December 2012, after a game against Ohio State, Kelsey gave an impassioned speech about the Sandy 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.”[10]

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.[11]

UMass affair[]

In 2017, Kelsey was hired as the head coach at Massachusetts, 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 an MoU with the university, which included a $1 million buyout clause should Kelsey leave before two years.[12][13][14]

Head coaching record[]

Statistics overview
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 First Round
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 I Canceled*
2020–21 Winthrop 23–2 17–1 1st NCAA Division I First Round
Winthrop: 185–95 (.661) 109–46 (.703)
College of Charleston (Colonial Athletic Association) (2021–present)
2021–22 College of Charleston 13–9 5–5
College of Charleston: 13–9 (.591) 5–5 (.500)
Total: 199–104 (.657)

      National champion         Postseason invitational champion  
      Conference regular season champion         Conference regular season and conference tournament champion
      Division regular season champion       Division regular season and conference tournament champion
      Conference tournament champion

*The 2020 NCAA tournament was canceled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.

Awards[]

  • Big South Men's Basketball Coach of the Year (2020-21)[15]

References[]

  1. ^ Page, Fletcher. "Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey no longer a candidate for Northern Kentucky job". The Enquirer. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  2. ^ Schmetzer, Mark. "Glory Days: Kelsey family drive led to state championships at Elder, Roger Bacon". The Enquirer. Retrieved 2021-01-24.
  3. ^ "Pat Kelsey - Men's Basketball Coach". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  4. ^ "Kelsey Named Finalist For Jim Phelan Coach Of The Year Award". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  5. ^ "Ex-Tyger Keon Johnson breaks Winthrop U. scoring record". Mansfield News Journal. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  6. ^ "Pat Kelsey - Men's Basketball Coach". Winthrop University Athletics. Retrieved 2019-07-31.
  7. ^ "Kelsey Named Men's Basketball Head Coach at College of Charleston". College of Charleston Sports. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
  8. ^ "Meet the mystery man of the NBA draft". sports.yahoo.com. Retrieved 2019-07-15.
  9. ^ "Pat Kelsey". Xavier University. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  10. ^ "Winthrop coach Pat Kelsey explains his intense Newtown speech". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  11. ^ "Through Sandy Hook tragedy, college basketball coach forms unbreakable bond with parents". Sporting News. 2016-08-04. Retrieved 2019-01-04.
  12. ^ "Pat Kelsey: New UMass coach has change of heart just minutes before press conference".
  13. ^ "2012-13 Men's Basketball Coaching Staff". Winthrop Eagles. Retrieved 2013-06-06.
  14. ^ "Kelsey backs out at UMass two days after hire". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-03-23.
  15. ^ "Big South Announces 2020-21 Men's Basketball Annual Award Winners". bigsouthsports.com. Retrieved 2021-02-26.

External links[]

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