Louisville basketball's Pat Kelsey named Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalist

Louisville basketball coach Pat Kelsey on Friday was named one of 10 semifinalists for the Naismith Men's College Coach of the Year award.

Kelsey, 49, tied Hall of Famer Denny Crum on Thursday for the most wins by a first-year head coach with the Cardinals (26) thanks to his team's 15-point comeback, and Chucky Hepburn's buzzer-beating jumper, en route to a 75-73 victory over Stanford in the quarterfinal round of the ACC Tournament at the Spectrum Center in Charlotte, North Carolina.

U of L's 17-win improvement from the 2023-24 campaign is the largest of any Division I program.

On Monday, Kelsey was crowned the ACC's Coach of the Year, beating Duke's Jon Scheyer by tally of 47-25.

He is the first Louisville coach to earn a conference Coach of the Year honor since Hall of Famer Rick Pitino was named Conference USA's Coach of the Year in 2004-05.After Thursday's win, Kelsey shrugged off the honor.

"Those don't matter," he said.

"All that matters is fighting with this team to try to win a championship."The No.

2-seeded Cards could compete for a conference championship Saturday night, if they take care of business against No.

3 Clemson at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Friday their first trip to the semifinal round since joining the league in 2014.

On the other side of the bracket: the No.

1 Blue Devils and No.

5 North Carolina.

Here's a look at the rest of the Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalists:Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalists 2025 Dennis Gates, MissouriTodd Golden, FloridaTom Izzo, Michigan StatePat Kelsey, LouisvilleGrant McCasland, Texas TechBen McCollum, DrakeBruce Pearl, AuburnRick Pitino, St.

JohnsKelvin Sampson, HoustonJon Scheyer, DukeThis list will be trimmed to four finalists on March 24.

A winner will be announced April 6.

Kelsey earned a $25,000 bonus for being named ACC Coach of the Year.

If he wins the Naismith award or one from The Associated Press or the National Association of Basketball Coaches he'll get another $50,000.Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton..oembed-frame {width:100%;height:100%;margin:0;border:0;}This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Louisville's Pat Kelsey is Naismith Coach of the Year semifinalist.

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