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College of Charleston won the CAA Tournament Championship for a second straight season on Tuesday, taking down Stony Brook in overtime to book its ticket to the Big Dance.
Near the end of that win, head coach Pat Kelsey’s son was seen ruthlessly trolling the Seawolves with the final seconds ticking from the clock. The image of Johnny imitating a crying baby immediately went viral, and if things go poorly for the Cougars in the NCAA Tournament, it might just resurface.
CofC ran through the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed after posting a 15-3 mark in league play. In the final game, they found themselves in a dogfight with surprise seven-seed Stony Brook who’d already taken down two-seed Drexel and three-seed Hofstra.
The Seawolves built an early lead, taking a 40-35 lead into the halftime break before the Cougars stormed back. The outcome appeared imminent late with College of Charleston up nine points with just under five minutes left, but the Cougs then went cold.
Unable to score for the final 4:54 of regulation, CofC saw that lead evaporate with Stony Brook forcing overtime.
Luckily for Pat Kelsey’s bunch, the scoring picked back up in that final session, and his son was sure to let the Seawolves know.
Images of Johnny mocking his father’s opponent went viral online as the Cougars put the finishing touches on a conference championship win.
I can’t stop laughing at this. https://t.co/zyxqfpBSiE pic.twitter.com/yEWia2U5Tp
— Matt Eisenberg (@matteise) March 13, 2024
Fans loved it in the moment, but will it come back to bite?
Pat Kelsey’s son is in danger of becoming the next March Madness meme.
We’ve seen all the viral moments from college sports’ most prized event, some of which include crying Northwestern kid…
Crying Northwestern Kid goes well with Zebras #justaddzebras pic.twitter.com/5l3jBAhlF1
— Kenneth Blankenship (@kenblankenship) March 21, 2017
Villanova piccolo girl…
If UNC wins, I’ll be happy for my bracket.
If Villanova wins, I’ll be happy for Villanova piccolo girl.#WinWin pic.twitter.com/mo9443JnQj
— Statboy (@Statboy203) April 5, 2016
And the crying Utah State cheeleader…
This Utah State cheerleader was going through it 😅 pic.twitter.com/Rqhpz3zBaZ
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) March 16, 2023
The cameras are always watching, and the internet never forgets.
Pat Kelsey’s son could find that out the hard way should the Cougars’ March Madness quickly become March Sadness with another first round exit.
Last year, College of Charleston fell to eventual national runner-up San Diego State, 63-57. They’ll hope to advance past the first weekend this time around, if for nothing more than Johnny Kelsey’s sake.