Kelvin and Kellen Sampson Share Sweet Father-Son Moment As Houston Advances to Final Four

The Cougars are headed to San Antonio for the Final Four.

Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson and assistant Kellen Sampson embrace after win over Tennessee in Elite Eight. / Screengrab via CBS

The Houston Cougars are off to their seventh Final Four in program history and the second under head coach Kelvin Sampson. Kelvin's son, Kellen, is an assistant coach on Houston's staff and even the Cougars' head coach-in-waiting.

Houston advanced to the Final Four Sunday with a 69-50 over No. 2 seed Tennessee, the Cougars' first trip since 2021. As soon as the final buzzer sounded, the father-son coaching duo shared a sweet embrace to celebrate the feat.

"Seventh heaven for Houston! The Cougars advance to their seventh Final Four, and hoping this trip brings them their first title!" - Andrew Catalon 🏀🎙️#MarchMadness pic.twitter.com/mGMQWdHoPG

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) March 30, 2025

Sports Illustrated's Kevin Sweeney captured the moment at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis:

A cool embrace between Kelvin and Kellen Sampson.

Father and son headed back to the Final Four with the Houston Cougars. pic.twitter.com/l4KKQCcJsi

— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) March 30, 2025

Houston is headed to San Antonio as the Cougars hope to capture their first national title in school history. They made it to the title game in 1983 and 1984 during then-coach Guy Lewis's Phi Slama Jama era, teams that featured basketball greats like Clyde Drexler and Hakeem Olajuwon. Houston has yet to capture that elusive title, however, losing on a famed last-second dunk to NC State in the 1983 championship game.

Sampson brought the Cougars back to prominence since he took over in 2014. Houston has made eight straight NCAA tournaments, excluding 2020 which was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. They have made the Sweet 16 or better in six straight tries.

The Cougars take on Duke in their Final Four matchup on Saturday, April 5. And the 34-4 Houston squad hopes that this year is theirs to win it all.

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