At least two members of Pat Kelce's Louisville men's basketball coaching staff have dotted the I's and crossed out the T's. That means they now know how much they will be paid for helping the Cardinals rebuild.
Assistants Brian Croman and Thomas Kerr, who will follow Kelce to U of L from Charleston, will have base salaries of $400,000 and $300,000, respectively, according to copies of signed offer letters obtained by the Courier-Journal through a public records request. becomes.
The document is not a formal contract. These will be finalized after both individuals complete pre-employment status and background checks.
For comparison, former Louisville head coach Kenny Payne's top three assistants, Danny Manning, Nolan Smith and Josh Jamieson, had base salaries of $600,000, $400,000 and $350,000, respectively. .
Two other staffers promoted to on-court roles last October, Gabe Snyder and Milt Wagner, had base salaries of $100,000 and $85,000, respectively.
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Payne was fired in March after overseeing two of the worst seasons in modern program history. He called his staff “one of the best” in the game, but his overall record was 12-52, with more losses by 20 points or more than wins.
During coach Chris Mack's final season, Mike Peggs was the highest-paid assistant with a base salary of $340,000. Ross McMains and Cahill Fennell's base salaries were $270,000 and $210,000, respectively.
Kelsey has been allocated $2.1 million for staff development, according to a signed copy of a memorandum of understanding with the Kelsey University Athletic Association (ULAA) obtained by the Courier-Journal through an open records request.
During an April 5 appearance on WLCL 93.9 FM, he described Kroman and Kerr as “two of the most networked and connected coaches I've ever met.”
“A tenacious worker, loyal to the ends of the earth, just passionate,” he added. “They are phenomenal teachers, phenomenal human beings, and great recruiters.”
Kroman, a native of Asheville, North Carolina, has worked with Kelsey for 10 seasons. They formed the team in 2014 during Kelce's nine-year tenure at Winthrop, and have since compiled a record of 227-92, six regular-season conference championships and four NCAA Tournament appearances.
Other stops in Kroman's coaching journey include Tennessee Technological University, North Carolina Central, University of Pikeville, Daniel Webster University and Pfeiffer University.
Meanwhile, Kerr just completed his second season on Kelce's staff. The Toledo, Ohio, native previously spent two years as director of athletics at Word of God Christian Academy in Raleigh, North Carolina. During that time, he also worked as the scouting director for his Your Fourth Assistant and on his AAU circuit for Team Loaded NC.
Carr has been coached by Kevin Keatts' staff for more than a decade, primarily at North Carolina State University, UNC Wilmington, and Hargrave Military Academy. He also made stops at East Tennessee State University, Chipola College, and George Washington High School.
Last week, sources confirmed to the Courier-Journal that Kelce is also bringing Charleston assistant Michael Cassidy to Louisville. But no public records request for his signed offer letter was filed Wednesday.
That's because Cassidy is from Australia. And as Kelsey said during an appearance on WLCL 93.9 FM, she said, “There's a little bit more of a hurdle to get over from a personnel standpoint.”
Other confirmed members of Kelsey's staff include Ronnie Hamilton and Eli Foy. The former just completed his second season as an assistant under Matt McMahon at LSU and is ranked No. 8 in his profession, while the latter has been Kelce's director of athletic performance since 2019.
Last January, the NCAA increased the coaching staff for men's and women's basketball from three to five on-court assistants. With Hamilton joining Kroman, Kerr and Cassidy, Kelce has another spot to work with.
His other two on-court assistants in Charleston were Mitch Johnson (director of basketball operations) and Jermaine Ukaeb (director of player development).
The former is I made the Louisville logo an X header photo., formerly Twitter. And as of Wednesday afternoon, his bio lists him as the Cards' director of basketball operations. However, at the time of publication, it was unclear whether he would play on the court.
Contact Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow @brooksHolton at X.