With Mark Pope named Kentucky men’s basketball coach and Pat Kelsey named Louisville men’s basketball coach, this is the first time in the modern era of college basketball that the Wildcats and the Cardinals will have new coaches in the same season.
Kentucky’s men’s and women’s programs last hired a new coach in the same season in 2007. The men’s team hired Billy Gillispie, and the women’s team hired Matthew Mitchell.
Here are the new coaching hires at Division I basketball programs in the state:
New basketball hires in Kentucky
Pat Kelsey, Louisville men’s basketball
Last position: College of Charleston
Career record: 12 seasons; 261-122 (.681)
One thing to note: This is Kelsey’s third stop as a head coach. He previously coached nine years at Winthrop before three seasons at Charleston. In his coaching career, he’s won 11 conference championships (regular season and conference tournament) and gone to the NCAA Tournament four times.
Mark Pope, Kentucky men’s basketball
Last position: BYU
Career record: nine seasons; 187-108 (.634)
One thing to note: Pope is a Kentucky alum who was part of the 1996 national championship team. In five seasons at BYU, he led the Cougars to two NCAA Tournament appearances and is the fastest coach in program history to win 60 games.
Kenny Brooks, Kentucky women’s basketball
Last position: Virginia Tech
Career record: 22 seasons; 517-204 (.717)
One thing to note: Kenny Brooks had a lot of success in his eight seasons at Virginia Tech. He led the program to its first ACC Tournament title (2023) and Final Four (2023).
Jonathan Mattox, Morehead State men’s basketball
Last position: Assistant coach at Murray State
Career record: First head coaching position
One thing to note: This is Jonathan Mattox’s second stint with Morehead State. He started as a graduate manager in 2013 and worked up to associate head coach for the Eagles. Mattox left Morehead State after the 2021-22 season and spent the last two years as an assistant coach for Murray State.
Hank Plona, Western Kentucky men’s basketball
Last position: WKU assistant coach
Career record: 225-35 (.865)
One thing to note: Before joining Steve Lutz’s staff, Hank Plona was the head coach at Indian Hills (Iowa) Community College for eight years. The team won eight ICCAC regular-season titles and six postseason conference titles, reaching the NJCAA Tournament seven times.
Northern Kentucky women’s basketball, TBD
This story will be updated.
Reach sports reporter Prince James Story at pstory@gannett.com and follow him on X at @PrinceJStory.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Mark Pope to Kentucky, Pat Kelsey to Louisville historic moment for KY
