University of Louisville men’s basketball head coach Pat Kelsey announced Wednesday the additions of assistant coaches Brian Kloman, Ronnie Hamilton and Thomas Carr to his staff, as well as Head Strength and Conditioning Coach/Chief of Staff Eli Foy.
Kloman, Carr and Foy join Kelsey from the College of Charleston, while Hamilton comes to the Cardinals following two seasons at LSU.
Louisville will announce additional coaching and support staff positions in the coming weeks.
Kloman has spent the last 10 seasons working with Kelsey, the last three at College of Charleston followed by seven before that at Winthrop.
“Brian Kloman is one of the most connected and well-regarded coaches in all of college basketball,” Kelsey said. “Beginning his 12th year with me and ninth as our defensive coordinator, he combines an elite skill set that makes him effective in all facets of the business. Brian is one of the best recruiters in the country. Beloved because of his ability to engage, connect and build trust. Combine this with a great understanding of our basketball system and culture, it makes him an invaluable piece to me as the head coach. We have been amongst the winningest programs in college basketball over the years and Brian has been a huge part of that.”
“I am so blessed to have this incredible opportunity and responsibility,” Kloman said. “I’ve been with Pat for over a decade and just so blessed to be with a hall of fame coach that is also an incredible person. There is no doubt that we will work to restore dominance again at Louisville. Making this city and fan base proud will be driving me every day.”
CofC went 75-27 overall (.735) in Kloman and Kelsey’s three seasons, claiming back-to-back Coastal Athletic Association regular season and tournament championships in 2023 and 2024.
During their time together at Winthrop, the Eagles compiled a 152-65 (.700) record, made four Big South Conference championship game appearances and earned three NCAA Tournament berths in 2017, 2020 and 2021.
Kloman and Kelsey’s total time together has produced an overall record of 227-92 over 10 seasons at the two programs.
Prior to Winthrop, Kloman worked as an assistant coach at Tennessee Tech and North Carolina Central. He helped NCCU to a 28-6 record and NCAA Tournament bid in 2014.
His coaching career also includes stints at Pikeville College, Daniel Webster and Pfeiffer University. In 2008, Kloman founded RecruitingRumors.com, which became one of the most popular sources for recruiting information amongst college coaches.
A native of Asheville, N.C., Kloman is a 2002 graduate of the University of Tennessee. His father, Chris Ferguson, has been in college coaching for more than 30 years.
Kloman and his wife, Beth Pora, have two daughters, Anna and Delaney.
Hamilton arrives at UofL after spending the last two seasons as an assistant at LSU.
“Ronnie Hamilton is the total package,” Kelsey said. “I always say that I think there are two of him because he is everywhere. We would go to ‘off the beaten track’ FIBA events in some corner of the world thinking that we were hunting where nobody else was…and sure enough Ronnie was there. His work ethic is legendary. He is brilliant and relentless. He has deservedly gained the reputation as one of the best assistant coaches in the country and is a sure-fire future head coach. He is terrific on the floor as a teacher of the game and in skill development. There is no doubt in my mind, his hire is a coup for our program.”
“It’s an honor to have the opportunity to represent the University of Louisville and to work for one of the most storied basketball programs in the nation,” Hamilton said. “I can’t wait to be a part of Coach Pat Kelsey’s staff and help him bring championships to UofL and the Cardinals faithful. I’d like to thank Coach Kelsey and Director of Athletics Josh Heird for this terrific opportunity, and I’m ready to get started!”
Hamilton came to LSU after four seasons at Ole Miss, where he worked primary with the guards and helped Rebels earn All-SEC honors four times.
Ole Miss reached the 2019 NCAA Tournament for the first time in four years, and in his first season with the program, Hamilton helped mentor the highest scoring duo in the SEC in all-conference guards Tyree and Terence Davis.
Hamilton also helped recruit a top-20 class for Ole Miss in 2019, one of the highest-rated classes in school history. The 2020 and 2021 classes also featured the highest-rated recruits the program had signed.
Before coming to Ole Miss, Hamilton was part of one of the best runs in school history at Middle Tennessee. The Blue Raiders won three straight Conference USA Championships, recorded two NCAA Tournament upsets over No. 2 seed Michigan State (2016) and No. 5 seed Minnesota (2017), and won a school-record 31 games in 2016.
Hamilton also had assistant coaching stints at Houston, Tulane, The Citadel and Division II Tarleton State.
The Oxford, N.C., native graduated with his master’s in physical education with a concentration in sports administration from UNC Pembroke, where he was graduate assistant coach for the basketball team from 2003-05.
He received his bachelor’s degree in political science and history from Duke in 2002. Hamilton was a four-year letterman for the Blue Devil football team as a defensive back. He signed a free-agent contract with the New York Giants. After being cut during the preseason, Hamilton decided to get into coaching, but opted to follow his passion of basketball.
Hamilton is married to Christabell Mariner with four children — Jalyn, Ryan, Annalisa and Bryson.
Carr spent the last two seasons on College of Charleston’s staff with Kelsey.
“Thomas Carr truly embodies all of the essential talents to be a highly effective assistant coach in this new era of college basketball,” Kelsey said. “His recruiting network is vast as he is wired like few I’ve been around at the grassroots, high school and junior college levels. His ability to connect and build trust with players is elite. His body of work includes over a decade at the college level but also experience at the highest level of high school and AAU basketball. He was head coach at national power Word of God Academy as well as Team Loaded NC on the Adidas 3SSB AAU circuit.”
“It is hard to put into words the respect, admiration and joy I have in getting the opportunity to join the University of Louisville and its Men’s Basketball program,” Carr said. “To be a part of such a history-rich school and program, with a staff full of guys that I consider brothers makes this moment even sweeter. Our effort, competitive excellence and love for each other will be seen on a daily basis both on the court as coaches, and off it as we mentor, teach and help mold the student-athletes we are blessed to be around every day into successful adults. I said it when I was fortunate enough to get hired on staff at the College of Charleston, but it is an honor to work for Coach Kelsey. Who he is and what he embodies daily is infectious and matches everything the University of Louisville is about perfectly. I want to also thank Dr. Schatzel, Athletics Director Josh Heird and the Board of Trustees for giving us the opportunity, and look forward to being a small piece in helping to bring Louisville Basketball back to prominence in the ACC and nationally.”
Carr came to Charleston after serving for two years as Athletics Director at national high school powerhouse Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, N.C. During that time, he also connected with numerous coaching staffs across the country as Scouting Director of Your Fourth Assistant, while also working as Director of Team Loaded NC, one of the premier AAU programs in the
