College of Charleston Cougars head coach Pat Kelsey. Matt Pendleton-USA TODAY Sports

Louisville appears to have decided on its next head coach

Originally posted on Larry Brown Sports | By Larry Brown | Last updated 3/27/24

Louisville appears to have decided on its next head basketball coach, and they’re not going with a Pitino.

Multiple reports on Wednesday said that the Cardinals are set to hire Pat Kelsey to replace Kenny Payne as their head coach.

BREAKING: Louisville is closing in on a deal with College of Charleston’s Pat Kelsey that would make Kelsey the Cardinals head coach, sources told @thefieldof68.

Barring a last-minute breakdown in negotiations, a deal is expected between the two sides.

Kelsey is a Midwest guy…

— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) March 27, 2024

The 48-year-old Kelsey has been the head coach at Charleston since 2021 after spending the previous nine seasons as the head coach at Winthrop. He led Winthrop to the NCAA Tournament twice and earned at least a share of the conference’s regular season title four times.

Charleston went 31-4 last season and 27-8 this season. It reached the NCAA Tournament both years.

Kelsey was a point guard as a player and has been coaching in college since 2004, first as an assistant and later as a head coach. He is known for bringing energy and passion to his programs.

A coach doesn’t need to do these kind of things to get 18,000+ at Louisville, but I love this kind of energy and passion from @patkelsey

If you care about something, say it with your whole chest: pic.twitter.com/Vi2RBEzfyX

— Howie Lindsey (@howielindsey) March 27, 2024