2024 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament

College of Charleston Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey NCAA Tournament History

College of Charleston Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey NCAA Tournament History

College of Charleston Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey just led his team to a second CAA Title after winning CAA Coach of the Year. Here's more on Coach Kelsey.

Mar 13, 2024 by Deondre Hayes
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College of Charleston Men's Basketball coach Pat Kelsey recently won CAA Coach of the Year amidst leading his team to its second consecutive CAA Championship. Kelsey is only in his third year at the helm in Charleston but proves to be one of the best mid-major coaches in the country. 

Kelsey and the Cougars just won the 2024 CAA Championship and are preparing for the big dance, the 2024 NCAA Tournament scheduled to begin with the First Four on March 19. 

CofC Basketball Wins 2nd straight CAA Championship vs. Stony Brook

Prior to joining the College of Charleston program Coach Kelsey was the head coach at WInthrop from 2012-21 and became the fifth most-winningest coaches in the the Big South Conference.

In just a short time at Charleston he has already proved to be a top coach in the CAA and has been drawing attention from high-major Division I programs across the country.

Here's more on CofC Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey. 

College of Charleston Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey History

Kelsey joined Charleston in 2021 and led the team to 17-15 in his first season, finishing sixth in the CAA standings.The 2023-2024 season marks his third season at the helm as the Cougars enter the NCAA Tournament on a 12-game winning streak. 

This season, Kelsey earned 2024 CAA Coach of the Year honors, the second COTY award in his career following his first in 2021 prior to leaving the Big South. 

Kelsey began his career as an assistant coach at Wake Forest University and later Xavier University. Xavier is Kelsey's alma mater and where he played point guard collegiately from 1996-1998. He then returned to Xavier as assistant coach from 2009-2012.

His career as a head coach began at Winthrop in 2012 where he shaped the program into a top competitor in the Big South Conference. Under his tenure Winthrop he won four Big South Regular Season titles (2016, 2017, 2020, 2021) and three Big South Tournaments (2017, 2020, 2021). 

The NCAA Tournament is not new scenery for Kelsey as he helped WInthrop clinch three trips to the NCAA Tournament. However the 2021 tournament was cancelled due to COID-19. 

Coming into Charleston, Kelsey made an impact immediately leading the team to a 31-4 record and the program's first CAA title since 2008. As the Cougars prepare to enter their second consecutive NCAA Tournament under Kelsey speculations about the future of his coaching career have began to rise.

Report: College of Charleston Coach Pat Kelsey drawing attention from Louisville Basketball

With Kelsey proving to be one of the best mid-major coaches in the country, the offers from high-major programs are sure to come in the coming weeks. Other than his time as an assistant, Winthrop and Charleston are the only programs where Kelsey served as a head coach. 

In 2017, Kelsey was hired as the head coach at Massachusetts, but returned to Winthrop two days after accepting the position, citing personal reasons.

Louisville makes it official on Kenny Payne @GoodmanHoops saying Dusty May and Pat Kelsey could be among their top options https://t.co/vJKPWvkWda

— Adam Zagoria (@AdamZagoria) March 13, 2024 ng> 

College of Charleston Basketball Coach's Son

Pat Kelsey's son has also been making a name for himself the past two seasons at Charleston as well. The youngest of Kelsey's three children, "Johnny Ballgame," can be found on the sidelines decked out in CofC gear cheering and encouraging the players.

 See More: Meet CofC Basketball "Team Favorite" Johnny Ballgame: A Look at His Impact

CofC Basketball Games In 2023-2024

Replays of Charleston Men's Basketball games from the 2023-24 season can be found here.

When Does The 2024 NCAA Tournament Start?

The tournament will begin with Selection Sunday on March 17, followed by the First Four on March 19-20. 

After the opening round is complete, the field will be set with the top 64 teams and the first round will start on March 21-22.

What Is Selection Sunday?

Selection Sunday is the day the NCAA committee releases the full tournament bracket initial seeding of all 68 teams. 

Thirty-two teams will automatically qualify for the tournament by winning their conference tournament. 

That leaves 36 other teams fighting for an at-large bid from the selection committee, which is considered through multiple stats and rankings to determine who receives the at-large bid.

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