Pat Kelsey rewards Louisville basketball legend with promotion for Year 2

The banner may not be allowed to hang, but Louisville fans remember the 2013 National Championship well, and though Rick Pitino is long gone, the 2025-26 Louisville Cardinals have major connective tissue to the program’s last title team. 

That connective tissue, former point guard Peyton Siva, just earned a promotion from second-year head coach Pat Kelsey, becoming an assistant coach after spending last year as the program’s Director of Player Development and Basketball Alumni Relations. Siva will still maintain his community engagement responsibilities, but with take an expanded role in recruiting and player development. 

Peyton Siva elevated to on-court assistant coach for Louisville basketball in 2025-26 season

The announcement comes one day after longtime Kelsey assistant Brian Kloman was elevated to Executive Director of Player Personnel and Strategic Initiatives. Kloman has worked alongside Kelsey for 12 years and has been his right-hand man since Kelsey took over the Louisville program. 

With Kloman moving from the sidelines to lead the charge for Louisville’s roster construction, Kelsey needed to backfill the role, and it appears that Siva has impressed through his first season with the program. 

In the NIL era, it’s more important than ever to connect with the fan base. Particularly, the fans with deep pockets, better known as boosters. Siva is the perfect fit for that role, a beloved former player who aided a new coaching staff in its attempt to connect with the community. 

Revenue-sharing, which was introduced this summer as part of the House v. NCAA settlement, guarantees athletic programs a budget to spend on their rosters, but NIL payments are still allowed for programs to go above the cap, and Louisville will need to tap its donor base to compete for another national championship. 

Kelsey has been recruiting at a high level and has done exceptionally well in the Transfer Portal. These moves, both Kloman and Siva’s promotions, are steps to continue that success in an ever-changing college basketball landscape, and there’s no reason to believe that Kelsey’s program would slow down on either front. 

It’s not just the player acquisition side, though, where Siva plays a significant role. In the university's official announcement, the second-year head coach specifically highlighted Siva’s work with point guard Chuck Hepburn, who earned First-Team All-ACC honors last season.

During his time as a player at Louisville, Siva earned All-Big East honors and was named to the 2013 NCAA All-Tournament team after finishing with 18 points, five assists, and six rebounds in the National Championship Game against Michigan.