The 2023–24 Charleston Cougars men's basketball team represented the College of Charleston in the 2023–24 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Cougars, led by third-year head coach Pat Kelsey, played their home games at TD Arena in Charleston, South Carolina, as members of the Coastal Athletic Association. They finished the 27–8, 15–3 in CAA play to win the regular season championship. The team defeated Monmouth, Towson, and Stony Brook to win the CAA tournament. As a result, they received the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 13 seed in the West region. There they lost in the first round to Alabama, a team that went on to that year's Final Four.

On March 28, 2024, head coach Pat Kelsey left the team to take the head coaching position at Louisville.

Previous season

The Cougars finished the 2022–23 season 31–4, 16–2 in CAA play to finish tied for first place with Hofstra. The team defeated Stony Brook, Towson, and UNC Wilmington to win the CAA tournament, claiming the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA tournament. The team won 31 games before qualifying for the NCAA Tournament, a record for the school's Division I era.

This was the 6th NCAA tournament appearance in program history. As a No. 12 seed in the NCAA tournament's Southern region, they were defeated in the First Round by No. 5 seed San Diego State, a team that went on to upset No. 1 seed Alabama in the Sweet 16 and later played in the national championship game.

On November 20, 2022, the Cougars defeated the Virginia Tech Hokies in the Charleston Classic Championship game, winning the local tournament for the first time in program history. On January 2, 2023, the Cougars were ranked in the AP poll for the first time in 20 years. They remained ranked for four weeks, the earliest in any season that the Cougars have been ranked for multiple consecutive weeks.

Offseason Departures

Charleston departuresNameNumberPos.HeightWeightYearHometownReason for departureDalton Bolon3G6'4"205GSGnadenhutten, OhioGraduated Raekwon Horton 5 F 6'6" 200 SO Santee, South Carolina Transferred to James Madison Ryan Larson 11 G 6'1" 180 GS Saint Paul, Minnesota Graduated Pat Robinson III 15 G 6'3" 195 GS Chesterfield, New Jersey Graduated Jaylon Scott 21 G 6'5" 195 GS Allen, Texas Graduated Babacar Faye 35 F 6'8" 190 FR Saly, Senegal Transferred to Western KentuckyCharles Lampten42F6'11"230SRRoanoke, TexasTransferred to Western Carolina

Incoming transfers Charleston incoming transfersNameNumberPosHeightWeightYearHometownPrevious schoolYears remainingDate eligible Frankie Policelli 1 F 225 GS New Hartford, New York Stony Brook 1 October 1, 2023Bryce Butler4G6'5"205GSLatrobe, PennsylvaniaWest Liberty1October 1, 2023Kobe Rodgers11G6'3"180JRCincinnati, OhioNova Southeastern2October 1, 2023CJ Fulton12G6'2"190JRBelfast, Northern Ireland Lafayette2October 1, 2023

2023 recruiting class

Preseason In the conference's preseason poll, the Cougars were picked to finish in first place.

Juniors Ante Brzovic (CAA Preseason First Team), Reyne Smith (CAA Preseason Second Team) and Ben Burnham announced that they would be returning to the team.

Roster

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style=|Non-conference regular season

!colspan=12 style=|CAA regular season

!colspan=12 style=| CAA tournament

!colspan=12 style=| NCAA tournament

Source

Awards and honors Conference honorsCAA Tournament Most Outstanding Player Reyne Smith GCAA All-Tournament Team Reyne Smith GCAA All-Tournament Team Frankie Policelli FCAA All-Tournament Team Kobe Rodgers GCAA Sixth Man of the Year Bryce Butler GAll-CAA First Team Ante Brzovic FAll-CAA Second Team Reyne Smith GAll-CAA Third Team Ben Burnham FCAA All-Rookie Team James Scott F Coaching honors Coastal Athletic Association Men's Basketball Coach of the Year Pat Kelsey Head coach Source

References