Charleston Cougars men's basketball

Charleston Cougars
2023–24 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team
University	College of Charleston
Head coach	Chris Mack (1st season)
Conference	Coastal Athletic Association
Location	Charleston, South Carolina
Arena	TD Arena (Capacity: 5,100)
Nickname	Cougars
Colors	Maroon and white [1]
NCAA tournament round of 32
1997
NCAA tournament appearances
1994, 1997, 1998, 1999, 2018, 2023, 2024
Conference tournament champions
Dixie: 1964 TAAC/A-Sun: 1997, 1998 SoCon: 1999 CAA: 2018, 2023, 2024
Conference regular season champions
TAAC/A-Sun: 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1998 SoCon: 1999, 2000, 2003, 2011 CAA: 2018, 2023, 2024
Conference division season champions
SoCon: 2001, 2002, 2004

The Charleston Cougars men's basketball team is an NCAA Division I college basketball team representing the College of Charleston in Charleston, South Carolina. The Cougars compete in the Coastal Athletic Association. Home games are played at TD Arena, located on College of Charleston's campus. While a member of the NAIA, they were National Champions in 1983. The Cougars have appeared seven times in the NCAA tournament, most recently in 2024.

History

The College of Charleston has sponsored a men's basketball team since 1898. They have been NCAA Division I since 1991 in the Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference (now ASUN Conference), the Southern Conference and presently the Coastal Athletic Association (formerly the Colonial Athletic Association). ^[2] In 2012, ESPN ranked Charleston as the 73rd best college basketball program in the previous 50 years, which was the highest ranking of all Division I teams in the state of South Carolina. ^[3]

John Kresse era (1979–2001)

Under head coach John Kresse, the team had its greatest success. In 1983, the Cougars won the NAIA Championship. In the 1991–92 season, the Cougars made the jump to Division I and beat UNC–Charlotte in their first game. In the 1998–99 season, the team joined the Southern Conference, winning its only SoCon tournament championship that year. In 1994, 1997, 1998 and 1999, the Cougars reached the NCAA tournament, with a record of 1–4, beating Maryland in the opening round in 1997. In 1995 and 1996, the Cougars made the NIT.

The program's biggest regular season win in school history was over then-No. 3 North Carolina on the road on December 6, 1998. Kresse's career record at Charleston is 560–143.

Tom Herrion era (2002–06)

Many^{[ who? ]} consider this a dark age for the program, despite still recording winning seasons and a NIT berth in 2003. The Cougars' strength of schedule slid into decline and players with questionable reputations filled the roster. Tom Herrion's first Charleston team finished 25–8 in 2002–03, captured the Great Alaska Shootout title and advanced to the NIT. His 25 victories marked the highest total of any first-year NCAA Division I head coach during the 2002–03 season. ^[4] Herrion also guided the Cougars to a 20–9 finish in 2003–04, 18–10 performance in 2004–05 and 17–11 record in 2005–06. Herrion's final record was 80–38.

Bobby Cremins era (2006–12)

The College of Charleston hired former Georgia Tech head coach Bobby Cremins in 2006. ^[5] In each of Cremins' five complete seasons, Charleston won 20 games and Cremins won the SoCon Coach of the Year award in 2011. The Cougars played in a national postseason tournament in three consecutive seasons under Cremins, making the CBI in 2009 and 2010 and the NIT in 2011. During Cremins' tenure, the Cougars were put back in the national spotlight when they upset then-No.9 North Carolina on January 4, 2010, at TD Arena. ^[6] He took a leave of absence during the 2011–2012 season due to exhaustion and retired at the conclusion of the season. ^[7] His overall record at Charleston is 125–68. ^[5]

Doug Wojcik era (2012–14)

Doug Wojcik, University of Tulsa's all-time wins leader, was named the 22nd all-time head men's basketball coach at the College of Charleston on April 1, 2012. ^[8] In his first season with the Cougars, Wojcik led Charleston to the SoCon Championship before losing to Davidson. The Cougars were added to the CBI postseason tournament, losing to George Mason in the first round. ^[9] Charleston moved to the Colonial Athletic Association (now the Coastal Athletic Association) in 2013 and Wojcik's Cougars struggled to a 6–10 conference record. He was fired on August 5, 2014, with a 38–29 overall record. ^[10]

Earl Grant era (2014–2021)

Earl Grant, a former Clemson and Wichita State assistant, was named the Cougars' 23rd all-time head coach on September 2, 2014. ^[11] Charleston struggled in Grant's first year at the helm, finishing the season with just nine wins. ^[12] The Cougars did, however, win their first-ever CAA tournament game, a 56–48 decision over Drexel in the first round. ^[13] Grant got his first signature win with Charleston on November 30, 2015, when the Cougars defeated LSU 70–58 at TD Arena. ^[14]

Grant's Cougars experienced the national postseason for the first time under his watch during the 2016–17 season. After finishing the regular season with a 23–8 record and losing in the CAA Tournament final, Charleston received an at-large bid to the NIT as a five seed. The Cougars ultimately lost at Colorado State, 81–74.

In the 2017–18 season, Coach Grant and the Cougars managed a 26–8 record going 14–4 in the conference and undefeated at home, with sweeps over conference teams Delaware, Hofstra, Northeastern and UNC Wilmington. The Cougars would take the regular-season conference championship in a 79–58 win over Elon and would go into the CAA Conference tournament as a #1 seed, going on to win the tournament championship in an 83–76 OT win over Northeastern. ^[15] Charleston would then receive a #13 seed spot in the 2018 NCAA Tournament and play #4 Auburn in San Diego, CA. ^[16] After the season, Grant left to be head coach of Boston College.

Pat Kelsey era (2021–2024)

The Cougars hired Pat Kelsey, former head coach at Winthrop University, on March 25, 2021. ^[17] Kelsey led the Cougars for just three seasons, but his era at Charleston is considered one of the most successful in program history. He led the team to a 75–27 (.735) overall record over his three seasons at the helm, including two conference regular season titles, two conference championship titles and two NCAA tournament appearances. ^[18] He also introduced the "Our City" motto, meant to unite support for the team with the city of Charleston. ^[19]

His team finished the 2022–23 season with a 31–4 record, including 4 weeks in the AP Top 25 poll, a conference championship title, and an NCAA tournament appearance. The team also won the Charleston Classic for the first time in program history. Kelsey signed an amended 5-year contract with the College of Charleston that would pay him a $1.1 million base salary, ^[20] making him highest paid head coach in the Coastal Athletic Association. ^[21]

The success continued into the 2023–24 season as he led the program to its first outright regular season title since 2003 and was named the Coastal Athletic Association Coach of the Year. ^[22] Following the end of the season, Kelsey accepted the position as head coach at the University of Louisville. ^[22]

College of Charleston president Andrew Hsu praised Kelsey upon news of his new position at Louisville, saying "he brought so much energy and excitement to Our City ... his impact goes far beyond basketball. His success reignited a premiere basketball school in a premiere city." ^[22]

Chris Mack era (2024-present)

Chris Mack, the former head coach at Xavier University and the University of Louisville, for whom Pat Kelsey was an assistant coach at the former, was named the 8th head coach in the program's Division I history on April 2, 2024. ^[23] He came to Charleston following a 2-year coaching hiatus and was immediately faced with putting together a new team and coaching staff. Multiple players from the 2023-24 season transferred to other programs, and Kelsey took most of his coaching staff with him to Louisville. ^[24] Mack hired former UMass head coach Matt McCall, former Saint Louis assistant coach Chris Harriman, and former NBA player Jeff McInnis as his assistant coaches. ^{[25] [26]}

Conference affiliations

• 1963–64 to 1969–70 – Dixie Intercollegiate Athletic Conference ^{[lower-alpha 1]}
• 1970–71 to 1990–91 – Independent
• 1991–92 to 1997–98 – Trans Atlantic Athletic Conference ^{[lower-alpha 2]}
• 1998–99 to 2012–13 – Southern Conference
• 2013–14 to present – Coastal Athletic Association ^{[lower-alpha 3]}

Notes

1. Currently known as the USA South Athletic Conference
2. Currently known as the Atlantic Sun Conference.
3. Known before the 2023–24 season as the Colonial Athletic Association.

Year-by-year history

Charleston's history since joining Division I in 1991.

Cougars Yearly Records
Year	Overall Rec.	Conference Rec.	Accomplishments
1991–92	19–8	N/A	N/A
1992–93	19–8	N/A	N/A
1993–94	24–4	14–2 (TAAC)	TAAC Regular Season Champions, NCAA round of 64
1994–95	23–6	15–1 (TAAC)	TAAC Regular Season Champions, NIT first round
1995–96	25–4	15–1 (TAAC)	TAAC Regular Season Champions, NIT Quarterfinals
1996–97	29–3	16–0 (TAAC)	TAAC Regular Season & Tournament Champions, NCAA round of 32
1997–98	24–6	14–2 (TAAC)	TAAC Regular Season & Tournament Champions, NCAA round of 64
1998–99	28–3	16–0 (SoCon)	SoCon Regular Season & Tournament Champions, NCAA round of 64
1999–00	24–6	13–3 (SoCon)	SoCon South Division Champions (best overall record)
2000–01	22–7	12–4 (SoCon)	SoCon South Division Champions
2001–02	21–9	9–7 (SoCon)	SoCon South Division Champions
2002–03	25–8	13–3 (SoCon)	SoCon South Division Champions (best overall record), NIT Quarterfinals
2003–04	20–9	11–5 (SoCon)	SoCon South Division Champions
2004–05	18–10	10–8 (SoCon)	N/A
2005–06	17–11	9–6 (SoCon)	N/A
2006–07	22–11	13–5 (SoCon)	N/A
2007–08	16–17	9–11 (SoCon)	N/A
2008–09	27–9	15–5 (SoCon)	CBI Quarterfinals
2009–10	22–12	14–4 (SoCon)	CBI First round
2010–11	26–11	14–4 (SoCon)	SoCon South Division Champions (tied best overall record), NIT Quarterfinals
2011–12	19–12	10–8 (SoCon)	N/A
2012–13	24–11	14–4 (SoCon)	CBI First round
2013–14	14–18	6–10 (CAA)	N/A
2014–15	9–24	3–15 (CAA)	N/A
2015–16	17–14	8–10 (CAA)	N/A
2016–17	25–10	14–4 (CAA)	NIT first round
2017–18	28–8	14–4 (CAA)	CAA Regular Season co-champions & Tournament Champions, NCAA round of 64
2018–19	24–9	12–6 (CAA)	N/A
2019–20	17–14	11–7 (CAA)	N/A
2020–21	9–10	6–4 (CAA)	Season shortened due to COVID-19
2021–22	17–15	8–10 (CAA)	N/A
2022–23	31–4	16–2 (CAA)	CAA Regular Season co-champions & Tournament Champions, NCAA round of 64
2023–24	27–7	15–3 (CAA)	CAA Regular Season champions & Tournament Champions, NCAA round of 64

Postseason

NCAA tournament results

The Cougars have appeared in the NCAA tournament seven times. Their combined record is 1–7.

Year	Seed	Round	Opponent	Result
1994	#12	First round	#5 Wake Forest	L 58–68
1997	#12	First round Second round	#5 Maryland #4 Arizona	W 75–66 L 69–73
1998	#14	First round	#3 Stanford	L 57–67
1999	#8	First round	#9 Tulsa	L 53–62
2018	#13	First round	#4 Auburn	L 58–62
2023	#12	First round	#5 San Diego State	L 57–63
2024	#13	First round	#4 Alabama	L 96–109

NIT results

The Cougars have appeared in the National Invitation Tournament (NIT) five times. Their combined record is 4–5.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1995	First round	Providence	L 67–72
1996	First round Second round	Tennessee Rhode Island	W 55–49 L 58–62
2003	Opening Round First round	Kent State Providence	W 72–66 L 64–69
2011	First round Second round Quarterfinals	Dayton Cleveland State Wichita State	W 94–84 W 64–56 L 75–82
2017	First round	Colorado State	L 74–81

CBI results

The Cougars have appeared in the College Basketball Invitational (CBI) three times. Their combined record is 2–3.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
2009	First round Quarterfinals	Troy Richmond	W 93–91 L 72–74
2010	First round Quarterfinals	Eastern Kentucky VCU	W 82–79 L 86–93
2013	First round	George Mason	W 100–1

NAIA tournament results

The Cougars have appeared in the NAIA tournament six times. Their combined record is 15–5. They were National Champions in 1983.

Year	Round	Opponent	Result
1983	First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals National Championship	Saint John's (MN) Oklahoma Panhandle State Santa Fe Chaminade West Virginia Wesleyan	W 67–43 W 64–62 OT W 67–62 W 66–65 W 57–53
1985	First round Second round Quarterfinals	Castleton State Southeastern Oklahoma State Wayland Baptist	W 68–52 W 60–43 L 68–73
1986	First round Second round Quarterfinals	Taylor Cumberland Arkansas–Monticello	W 57–47 W 59–46 L 60–63
1987	First round Second round	Western State Hawaiʻi–Hilo	W 67–51 L 57–65
1988	First round Second round Quarterfinals Semifinals National third-place game	Defiance University of the Ozarks Saint Thomas Aquinas Auburn–Montgomery Waynesburg	W 78–62 W 73–59 W 67–61 L 70–74 W 89–61
1989	First round Second round	Olivet Nazarene Central Washington	W 79–64 L 55–66

Cougars in the NBA

Five former College of Charleston players have played in the NBA.

Name	Years Played	Teams
Jarrell Brantley	2020–2021	UTA
Joe Chealey	2019–2020	CHA
Andrew Goudelock	2012–2016	LAL and HOU
Anthony Johnson	1998–2010	SAC, ATL, ORL, CLE, NJN, IND, and DAL
Grant Riller	2021	CHA

Cougars in international leagues

• Joe Chealey (born 1995), basketball player in the Israeli Basketball Premier League (ISBL)
• Payton Willis (born 1998), basketball player in the Italian Basketball League (LBA)
• Jaylon Scott (born 2000), basketball player in the Romanian Basketball League (LNBM)
• Ryan Larson (born 2000), basketball player in the Lithuanian Basketball League (LKL)

References

1. College of Charleston Athletics Identity Standards (PDF). June 11, 2018. Retrieved December 20, 2022.
2. "Charleston Men's Basketball Record Book" (PDF). CofC Sports.
3. "50 in 50: Conference breakdowns". ESPN.
4. "Herrion ready to restart his career". ESPN.
5. "Bobby Cremins". CofC Sports. Archived from the original on 2015-09-23. Retrieved 2015-03-04.
6. Final/OT (2010-01-05). "North Carolina vs. Charleston – Game Recap – January 4, 2010 – ESPN". Espn.go.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
7. "Bobby Cremins taking indefinite leave". ESPN.
8. Menchaca, Ron. "Doug Wojcik Named Men's Basketball Coach – College of Charleston News : College of Charleston News". News.cofc.edu. Archived from the original on 2013-12-20. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
9. "Men's Basketball Wins Over Charleston, 78–77, in CBI". GMU Sports.
10. "College of Charleston fires embattled Wojcik". ESPN.com. Retrieved 2017-07-28.
11. "College of Charleston names Earl Grant hoops coach". USAToday.com. Retrieved 4 March 2015.
12. "2014–2015 CAA Standings". Caasports.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
13. "CofC-Drexel Boxscore". Caasports.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
14. "LSU Tigers vs. Charleston Cougars". Scores.espn.go.com. Retrieved 2016-05-06.
15. Miller, Andrew. "College of Charleston men's basketball advances to NCAA tournament for the first time since 1999". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2018-06-05.
16. "Charleston Draws Auburn In NCAA First Round" . Retrieved 2018-06-05.
17. "Kelsey Named Men's Basketball Head Coach at College of Charleston". College of Charleston Sports. Retrieved 2021-03-25.
18. Bilodeau, Kevin (2024-03-27). "CofC's Pat Kelsey taking head coaching job at Louisville, reports say". Live 5 News. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
19. "Catching Up With CofC Men's Basketball Coach Pat Kelsey | Charleston.com". charleston.com. Retrieved 2024-03-29.
20. "Kelsey Receives Five-Year Contract Extension". College of Charleston Athletics. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
21. "THE KELSEY EFFECT | The Daniel Island News". www.thedanielislandnews.com. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
22. "Kelsey Steps Down as Head Coach". College of Charleston Athletics. 2024-03-22. Retrieved 2024-03-28.
23. "Chris Mack Named Next Head Charleston Men's Basketball Coach". College of Charleston Athletics. 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
24. [e-mail], Andrew Miller (2024-04-02). "College of Charleston 'right fit' for new coach Chris Mack". Post and Courier. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
25. Giles, Matt (2024-04-07). "UNC Basketball Alum Becomes Assistant Under Former ACC Coach". Sports Illustrated North Carolina Tarheels News, Analysis and More. Retrieved 2024-04-14.
26. DirtKing, The (2024-04-04). "DAILY DIRT: D1 staff's starting to take shape". HoopDirt. Retrieved 2024-04-14.

External links

• Official website