ROSWELL, Ga. (Naismith Awards) – University of Louisville men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey has been named to the Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Watch List, the Naismith Awards announced Friday.
No. 25/22 Louisville (20-6, 13-2 ACC) is one of the most improved teams in the country from 2023-24 to 2024-25. The Cardinals have improved by 179 spots in the NET from the end of the 2023-24 season to Feb. 20, 2025, the third largest improvement in DI and the largest of any Power Four team.
The Cardinals have also improved by 12 wins already this season, reaching the 20-win mark against Notre Dame on Sunday. The 12-win improvement is tied for the most in DI alongside Michigan, Missouri and New Mexico State, through games played on February 19.
Louisville was picked ninth in the ACC Preseason Poll and is currently tied for second in the league with five regular season games left, having already secured a bye in the ACC Tournament.
Kelsey constructed this season’s roster from scratch, getting 12 of his 13 scholarship players from the transfer portal, and the 13th as a newly recruited freshman. The Cardinals have also suffered unexpected adversity to the roster with two season-ending injuries and two other injuries that impacted previous starters for a significant number of games.
The Cards are 8-2 on the road so far this season with just one road game remaining. UofL is 4-4 in Quad 1 contests.
UofL is on the brink of the largest turnaround in program history. Louisville has improved by 13 wins season to season on two occasions in the program’s 111-year history – from 1984-85 to 1985-86 and from 2003-04 to 2004-05 the Cardinals improved season to season by 13 wins. In 1986, the 32 wins resulted in a National Championship and in 2005, the team’s 33 wins lead to a trip to the Final Four.
2025 Werner Ladder Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Watch List presented by AXIA Time
Greg Gard, Wisconsin
Dennis Gates, Missouri
Todd Golden, Florida
Penny Hardaway, Memphis
Tom Izzo, Michigan State
Pat Kelsey, Louisville
Dusty May, Michigan
Grant McCasland, Texas Tech
Ben McCollum, Drake
Matt Painter, Purdue
Bruce Pearl, Auburn
Rick Pitino, St. John’s
Richard Pitino, New Mexico
Kelvin Sampson, Houston
Jon Scheyer, Duke
(Photo of Pat Kelsey: Brett Davis – Imagn Images)
