Following the most successful season for the College of Charleston since the late 1990’s, led by a trio of former Division II standouts in Dalton Bolon, Pat Robinson, and Ante Brzovic, why would the formula be any different for head coach Pat Kelsey?
Dealing with the loss of a few key players this offseason that helped carry the Cougars to a 2023 CAA Championship and subsequent NCAA Tournament appearance, Kelsey and Co. rebuilt by diving into the D2 transfer portal while patching up the reserves with some solid Division I contributors.
Bryce Butler was the first to announce his commitment to Charleston on April 10. The D2 West Liberty product averaged 22.4 PPG, 7.6 RPG, and 3.6 APG in 2022-23 to earn consecutive MEC Player of the Year awards and carry the Hilltoppers to the 2023 NCAA Championship.
Here, Butler and West Liberty would eventually fall to the Cougars second commit in Kobe Rodgers, a D2 national champion with Nova Southeastern. Rodgers helped the Sharks to the finals, averaging 12.8 PPG, 4.5 RPG, and 2.3 APG this past season.
Rodgers and Butler were easily two of the most highly coveted D2 guards in the portal this offseason and were both impressively scooped up by Kelsey – a coach with an obvious knack for developing D2 talent – despite garnering interest from D1 programs across the country.
Charleston’s third addition was Lafayette transfer and Belfast, Ireland native, CJ Fulton, a Third Team All-Patriot League selection and three-point shooting threat. Fulton averaged 10.1 PPG, 5.1 RPG, and 5 APG while shooting 39% from deep for the Leopards in 2022-23. Reports are suggesting Fulton will fit into the ball handling role for the Cougars, left vacant by graduating senior Ryan Larson who was a 35 game starter for Kelsey.
Lastly, College of Charleston rounded out its transfer class with the coup of graduate senior Frankie Policelli, an in-conference signee who arrives from Stony Brook. Policelli led the Seawolves in scoring and rebounding by averaging 13.7 PPG and 9.4 RPG over the previous campaign.
The Cougars may be missing several names that are etched into the history of Charleston basketball heading into next season, but things have gone perfectly according to plan in #OurCity for Kelsey this offseason and should see a highly competitive team at TD Arena once again.
