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Kelsey named coach at UMass

Big South Basketball Tournament - North Carolina-Asheville v Winthrop

BUIES CREEK, NC - MARCH 06: Head coach Pat Kelsey of the Winthrop Eagles directs his team against the North Carolina-Asheville Bulldogs during the championship game of the 2016 Big South Basketball Tournament at Pope Convocation Center on March 6, 2016 in Buies Creek, North Carolina. UNC Asheville defeated Winthrop 77-68. (Photo by Lance King/Getty Images)

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After five seasons at Winthrop, Pat Kelsey is headed to UMass.

The 41-year-old was announced as the Minutemen’s newest coach Tuesday.

“UMass is a national college basketball brand with a proud, powerful tradition,” Kelsey said in a statement released by the school. “As a player in the A-10 (at Xavier), I saw first hand what the potential is there. I look forward to the challenge of making UMass a major factor on the national level once again.”

UMass went 15-18 last season under Derek Kellogg, who took the Minutemen to the NCAA tournament as a six-seed in 2014, but saw the program languish around .500 the last three seasons.

Kelsey went 102-59 at Winthrop, going 26-7 this past season and taking the Eagles to their first NCAA tournament since 2010. Prior to his five-year stint with Winthrop, Kelsey was the associate head coach to Chris Mack at Xavier. He also previously worked at Wake Forest under Skip Prosser and Dino Gaudio. He played in three NCAA tournaments while a player at Xavier.

“Pat has been an important piece of some highly-successful programs throughout his career,” UMass athletic director Ryan Bamford said in a statement, “including the last five years leading the basketball program at Winthrop University.

“Coach Kelsey has a detailed plan for every phase of our program and a passionate work ethic providing fuel to reach our goals of building a championship-caliber program.”