Pat Kelsey's Louisville basketball staff will include 3 of his top Charleston assistants

Pat Kelsey said the members of his now-former Charleston men's basketball coaching staff are "loyal as the day's long."

At least three will join his new Louisville regime, a source confirmed to The Courier Journal on Tuesday.

They are assistants Brian Kloman, Michael Cassidy and Thomas Carr.

The details of their contracts were not available Tuesday; because the hires had not been made official.

Kelsey has a $2.1 million salary pool to build his staff, according to a signed copy of his Memorandum of Understanding with the U of L Athletic Association obtained by The Courier Journal via open records request.

Over the past two seasons, Kelsey & Co. have guided Charleston to a 58-12 record and back-to-back conference tournament championships to secure automatic bids to March Madness. Both trips ended in first-round losses.

When asked during his introductory news conference about the possibility of staff members following him to the Cardinals, Kelsey credited them for his 2024 Coastal Athletic Association Coach of the Year award.

"(They're) why we win," he said. "Culture is the machine behind the scenes."

He later added, "You don't have to be the smartest in the room; but you better have the smartest room."

Last January, the NCAA expanded men's and women's basketball coaching staffs from three to five on-court assistants.

Kelsey's two other on-court assistants at Charleston were Mitch Johnson (director of basketball operations) and Jermaine Ukaegbu (director of player development).

Judging by the former making a Louisville logo his header photo on X, formerly Twitter, it appears he'll be headed to the 502 soon. Others are likely not far behind.

And Kelsey said he's considering adding "someone, or a couple, from the outside."

Here's what to know about the first three additions to his staff — Kloman, Cassidy and Carr:

Brian Kloman

An Asheville, North Carolina, native, Kloman has worked with Kelsey for 10 seasons.

They joined forces in 2014, during Kelsey's nine-year stint at Winthrop, and have since compiled a 227-92 record, six regular-season conference championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances.

At Charleston, Kloman spearheaded the Cougars' defense — serving in a "coordinator" role, Kelsey said.

Kelsey has called Kloman "the prototype assistant coach" and "an elite relationship builder.

"He uses this special gift to be a great recruiter; but, more importantly, he uses it to build special bonds with our current players. The key to retention is the investment of time into players. You have to love them. He is the best I’ve ever seen at this."

Before linking up with Kelsey, Kloman worked as an assistant at Tennessee Tech and North Carolina Central. Other stops on his coaching journey include Pikeville College, Daniel Webster College and Pfeiffer University.

In 2008, he founded the now-defunct RecruitingRumors.com, which became a well-known source of information among coaches.

Kloman graduated from Tennessee in 2002. His father, Chris Ferguson, works as a college basketball consultant after a coaching career spanning three decades.

Michael Cassidy

Hailing from Canberra, Australia, Cassidy teamed up with Kelsey ahead of the 2021-22 season, his first at Charleston, fresh off a stint as an assistant on his country's U19 national team in the FIBA World Cup.

Cassidy's bio on the Cougars' official website says he was "instrumental in designing" an offense that has ranked among the top 100 on KenPom.com in terms of adjusted efficiency from 2022-24.

"Michael is one of the brightest young minds in the game, in my opinion," Kelsey said in a statement for Charleston Athletics. "He brings unique elements to our staff both from a recruiting and basketball standpoint."

Before joining the Cougars, Cassidy worked for five years as a staffer at the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence, which has produced NBA players such as Andrew Bogut, Joe Ingles and Patty Mills.

He also has ties to the NBA Global Academy, the National Basketball League and the Australian Basketball Development Camp.

One of the players following Kelsey to Louisville is Reyne Smith — an Aussie sharpshooter.

Thomas Carr

Carr, a Toledo, Ohio, native, just finished his second season on Kelsey's staff.

He joined Charleston after a two-year stint as athletics director at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina; during which he also worked as a scouting director for Your Fourth Assistant and on the AAU circuit for Team Loaded NC.

Prior to that, Carr spent 14 years coaching, primarily on former Louisville assistant Kevin Keatts' staffs at N.C. State, UNC Wilmington and Hargrave Military Academy. Other stops on his journey include East Tennessee State, Chipola College and George Washington High School.

Kelsey has called Carr "the total package" and "a terrific human being that believes that shaping the lives of young people is a coach’s biggest calling.

"This not only makes him what I believe one of the nation's top recruiters but also someone beloved by players, coworkers, and members of the community," he said in a statement for Charleston Athletics.

Carr played at Pfeiffer University in Misenheimer, North Carolina. In 2021, he made headlines for coaching an AAU game in full uniform; which he said was intended to energize his team for an 8 a.m. tipoff.

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at [email protected] and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Pat Kelsey's Louisville basketball staff to include 3 from Charleston