Winthrop hires late Skip Prosser's son Mark as new coach

Published Apr. 2, 2021 5:31 p.m. ET

Associated Press

ROCK HILL, S.C. (AP) — Winthrop has picked Mark Prosser, son of the late Skip Prosser, as its new men's basketball coach.

The younger Prosser succeeds Pat Kelsey, one of his father's most trusted players and assistant coaches, who took the head coaching job at College of Charleston last month.

Mark Prosser was Kelsey's assistant with the Eagles from 2012 to 2018, then became Western Carolina's head coach.

Kelsey played for Skip Prosser at Xavier and coached under him at Wake Forest.

Prosser went 37-53 in three seasons with the Catamounts. After a 7-25 debut, Prosser took Western Carolina to a 19-12 mark in 2020.

Winthrop vice president of intercollegiate athletics Ken Halpin said it was that turnaround that showed him Prosser was ready. Halpin said the chance to bring in someone with experience who knows Winthrop's culture and tradition was what they were looking for.

Winthrop has won the past two Big South Conference Tournaments. The Eagles were a 12th seed in the NCAA Tournament and fell to No. 5 seed Villanova in the opening round.

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