ACC Assistant Coach Heading to Louisville

It’s head coach Pat Kelsey’s second hire this offseason following some outgoing movement on his coaching staff.

Mar 19, 2026; Buffalo, NY, USA; The Louisville Cardinals mascot performs during the second half against the South Florida Bulls during a first round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Keybank Center. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images | Gregory Fisher-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - For the next hire on his coaching staff with the Louisville men's basketball program, head coach Pat Kelsey is plucking an assistant from within the ACC.

Clemson assistant coach Sean Dixon is leaving the Tigers for a position as an assistant with the Cardinals, according to Tiger Illustrated and confirmed by Louisville Cardinals On SI.

It's Kelsey's second hire this offseason, also bringing in Campbell head coach John Andrzejek to be his associate head coach. The two moves offset a pair of staff moves in the other direction, as assistant coach Thomas Carr left Louisville for a similar role at Indiana, while Executive Director of Player Personnel and Strategic Initiatives Brian Kloman departed to become the general manager at Auburn.

Dixon has spent the last four seasons as an assistant coach for Tigers head coach Brad Brownell. In that time, Clemson went 98-41 overall, including 55-23 in regular season ACC play. CU made the NCAA Tournament in Dixon's last three seasons with them, including an appearance in the Elite Eight in 2024.

During his time in Clemson, Dixon worked primarily with the wings. This past season, forward R.J. Godfrey was the Tigers' leading scorer, averaging 12.0 points and 5.3 rebounds. Dixon also collaborating with associate head coach Billy Donlon on the Tigers' defensive efforts. CU has ranked in the top-35 of KenPom's adjusted defensive efficiency in each of the last three seasons, ranking as high as No. 17 for the 2024-25 season.

Prior to his time at Clemson, Dixon spent four seasons as an assistant coach at Middle Tennessee under head coach Nick McDevitt. While the Blue Raiders went 50-73 during his time in Murfreesboro, this included a 26-11 campaign in his final season with MTSU.

Before that, Dixon was also with McDevitt during the latter's five-year stint as the head coach at UNC Asheville from 2013-18. The Bulldogs went 98-66 during Dixon's time there, where he focused on working with the guards and was their recruiting coordinator. During the 2015-16 season, Dixon helped UNC Asheville clinch just their fourth NCAA Tournament berth in program history.

A native of Marietta, Ga., Dixon is a graduate of Presbyterian College, where he was a 1,000-point scorer. After graduating in 2007, he spent four years on the coaching staff there.

On the heels of a very successful year one under head coach Pat Kelsey, year two for Louisville was up-and-down and overall a slight disappointment. The Cardinals had legitimate preseason Final Four aspirations and were ranked as high as No. 6 in the nation, but ultimately finished the season at 24-11 overall. UofL was able to win their first NCAA Tournament game since 2017 with a first round takedown of USF, before ultimately falling to Michigan State in the next round.

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(Photo of Louie: Gregory Fisher - Imagn Images)