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Kobe Rodgers, who played for Pat Kelsey at Charleston, commits to Louisville

brooks holton, louisville courier journal
·3 min read

A third Charleston men's basketball player is following head coach Pat Kelsey to Louisville.

It's Kobe Rodgers, a 6-foot-3, 180-pound junior guard from Cincinnati who announced his commitment to the Cardinals on Friday.

The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman first reported the news Thursday. According to his post on X, formerly Twitter, Rodgers plans to redshirt during the 2024-25 season. He suffered a leg injury during the No. 13-seeded Cougars' loss to No. 4 Alabama in the first round of the NCAA Tournament.

The other former Charleston players joining U of L are Reyne Smith, a junior guard, and James Scott, a freshman forward.

Rodgers appeared in 31 of the Cougars' games during the 2023-24 season, making 18 starts. Across 21.7 minutes per contest, he averaged 9.7 points on 50% shooting (18 for 40 from 3-point range), 4.6 rebounds and 1.2 steals to go along with a 1.4 assist-turnover ratio.

His best game of the campaign scoring-wise was when he dropped a career-high 24 points during 23 minutes of a Jan. 18 loss to Towson. He also posted high-water marks of 10 rebounds (Dec. 18 vs. Coastal Carolina), eight assists (March 2 vs. Hofstra) and four steals (March 11 vs. Towson).

Charleston finished the season with a 27-8 (15-3 Coastal Athletic Association) record. The Cougars won the conference's tournament to earn back-to-back trips to March Madness for the first time since 1997-99.

Rodgers was named to the All-CAA Tournament team after he averaged 10.6 points across three games in Washington, D.C.

Rodgers signed with Charleston last May, after he helped Nova Southeastern cap an unbeaten season by winning its first DIII national title. He started every game of the 36-0 campaign, averaging 13.2 points per.

"Kobe is a true two-way player with phenomenal basketball instincts," said Kelsey, a fellow Cincinnati native, in a statement for Charleston Athletics upon signing Rodgers. "His athleticism and length combined with a diverse skill set allows him to play on or off the ball offensively and to guard multiple positions defensively.

"The coaching fraternity in Cincinnati which is one of the best in the country in my opinion raves about Kobe as a player, competitor and person."

At age 7, Rodgers lost his father to a bout with brain and lung cancer. Kelsey called his perseverance through the adversity "very inspiring.

"In meeting his mother, sister and others in his support circle it is easy to see why" he prevailed, the coach said. "Kobe has a chip on his shoulder that we covet here at Charleston."

Charleston's Kobe Rodgers (left) reportedly is joining former coach Pat Kelsey at Louisville.
Charleston's Kobe Rodgers (left) reportedly is joining former coach Pat Kelsey at Louisville.

Rodgers is Kelsey's ninth transfer addition of the offseason — and the second who plans to redshirt during the head coach's inaugural season.

Aly Khalifa, a junior center from BYU, pledged to Louisville in mid-April; but the 6-11, 270-pound Egyptian is sitting out to rehab a knee injury.

Joining Smith and Scott on the Cards' 2024-25 roster are:

As of Thursday, all of U of L's scholarship players from the 2023-24 season had entered the portal, which was open through May 1.

At the time of publication, nine had found new homes:

Kobe Rodgers highlights: Watch Louisville basketball transfer portal commit

Reach Louisville men's basketball reporter Brooks Holton at bholton@gannett.com and follow him on X at @brooksHolton.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kobe Rodgers commits to Louisville basketball, Pat Kelsey via portal