Louisville to promote Peyton Siva to assistant coach under Pat Kelsey

Louisville has promoted former Cardinal great Peyton Siva to an assistant coach role for the 2025-26 season, the program announced on Tuesday.

Siva was Louisville‘s Director of Player Development and Basketball Alumni Relations last season, but will now play an even bigger role on the staff this year. He is one of the greatest players in program history, as he helped lead the Cardinals to a National Championship (that has since been vacated) in 2013 and was named the Big East Tournament MVP in both 2012 and 2013.

“Peyton is a living legend at Louisville,” said Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey via a press release. “His promotion to assistant coach reflects his proven impact, from player development to bridging our storied past with our bright future. His relationships with our alumni, donors and community will be critical as we continue to elevate this program.”

Per the press release, Siva’s responsibilities will expand to include recruiting top talent to Louisville, leveraging his reputation as a program legend and his deep ties to the basketball community. His role in player development will continue to focus on nurturing the skills and leadership of the Cardinals’ roster, particularly at the guard position.

Siva was instrumental in Chucky Hepburn’s development last season

“I’m honored to take on this new role with the University of Louisville,” Siva said via the release. “This program and this city mean everything to me. I’m excited to continue mentoring our players, recruiting the next generation of Cardinals and building on the incredible momentum from last season. Working with Chucky (Hepburn) and seeing his growth was one of the most rewarding experiences of my career, and I look forward to helping our team achieve even greater success. Go Cards!”

Siva’s collegiate career spanned from 2009 to 2013, all coming under Rick Pitino at Louisville. In 144 career games, the Seattle, WA native averaged 8.4 points, 4.7 assists and 1.8 steals. The former All-Big East selection was then selected with the No. 56 overall pick in the 2013 NBA Draft by the Detroit Pistons, but he would only play 24 games in the NBA.

He’d then spend the next nine years of his career playing international basketball before returning to Louisville in 2024 as its Director of Player Development and Basketball Alumni Relations. Head coach Pat Kelsey has made it abundantly clear in a short span that he is 100% embracing the history and culture of the program, and promoting one of the program’s greatest players ever to an assistant coach certainly cements that sentiment.