Winthrop Hires Pat Kelsey

Winthrop has hired former Wake Forest and Xavier assistant Pat Kelsey to take the place of Randy Peele as the school’s basketball coach. The 36 year old spent eight seasons at Wake Forest coaching under Skip Prosser and Dino Gaudio. Kelsey then went back to his alma mater, Xavier, to become the team’s associate head coach. In 2011 Kelsey stepped away from coaching citing issues coping with Skip Prosser’s death and wanting to spend more time with his family. Kelsey has stated that he has since come to grips and is ready to step back into coaching.

Kelsey’s contract is for six years with an annual salary of $175,000, according to the Associated Press. Kelsey has already tabbed his first assistant in Brian Thorton. Thorton played at Xavier and spent last year as an assistant coach at Furman. Kelsey is also looking to add Brevard head coach Mark Prosser to his staff. Prosser previously spent time as an assistant at Wofford.

Kelsey has already lost the commitment of two-star recruit Jackson Trapp. Trapp was Winthrop’s top recruit and spent the last season playing at Fishburne Military Academy, where he played with Lancer signee Karl Ziegler. Kelsey has been able to retain the commitment of Jerron Foster, a junior college transfer from Southern Idaho.