Former Elder High School standout Pat Kelsey, who played and coached at Xavier University, is leaving Winthrop University after nine seasons as the Eagles' head coach to become the head coach of the Charleston Cougars, the school announced Thursday night.
From Kelsey via Twitter:
Kelsey led Winthrop to a 23-1 record and the Big South's NCAA Tournament automatic bid before the 12th-seeded Eagles lost 73-63 last week to No. 5 Villanova in the first round of the Big Dance.
Winthrop also earned the conference's automatic bid last year before the NCAA Tournament was canceled.
Kelsey, a state champion while at Elder, has been Winthrop's head coach since 2012. Before that, he spent three years as an associate head coach at Xavier with Chris Mack, and from 2001 to 2009 on Wake Forest's staff. He was an assistant coach at Elder from 1998 to 2001.
Kelsey reportedly turned down an offer in 2018 to become Siena's new head coach. Some expected Kelsey to replace John Brannen as Northern Kentucky University's head coach before Darrin Horn was hired.
Kelsey also was considered a candidate to replace Mack at Xavier before XU named Travis Steele its head coach in 2018.
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