Xavier assistant Kelsey leaves coaching profession

As one of the brightest young assistant coaches in college basketball, Pat Kelsey might have been the type of person considered this week for the attractive head coaching job at Murray State.

Instead, he is walking away from the game entirely.

Chris Mack is losing a promising assistant from his staff, but to retirement not a head-coaching opportunity. (AP photo)

Kelsey, 36, announced Monday he is resigning his position as Xavier’s associate head coach for personal reasons. He indicated he wants to spend more time with his wife and two daughters and will pursue employment outside the coaching profession.

Kelsey referenced the sudden death of his mentor, Skip Prosser, as reconfiguring his priorities, but he is not leaving the game because of health issues.

"For a long time, I have struggled internally with this decision,” Kelsey said in a statement. “Four years ago, I witnessed firsthand coach Prosser's death in the basketball office at Wake Forest. That day, my perspective on the profession and life was forever altered.

"My role as a father and husband is everything to me, and the rigors of this business can make that challenging.”

Kelsey has been considered a Division I head coaching candidate in each of the past two springs. He was among the leading contenders for the Charlotte job in 2010, and this year he was the primary target at Towson. His withdrawal from consideration stunned those pursuing him at the time, but it should make more sense in light of Monday’s developments.

Kelsey has served as Xavier’s lead assistant since Chris Mack became head coach in 2009. Kelsey essentially was the first person Mack hired. On Monday, Mack described Kelsey as “like a brother” and praised his work during the two seasons they spent together.

“Nowadays, college basketball is 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and the balance between career and family can be difficult,” Mack said. “I respect and, in many ways, understand his decision to put family first. Kels will always be part of the Xavier basketball family even as he moves in a different direction professionally.”

Kelsey played at Xavier in the late 1990s and worked his way up to co-captain. He joined Prosser’s staff at Wake Forest in 2001 and gradually climbed from director of operations to assistant coach.

Kelsey has a Xavier degree in business administration and is well known in Cincinnati, his hometown.

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