How Kevin Keatts’ prep coaching background helped in the transfer portal

At one point, Kevin Keatts never thought he’d leave the prep school coaching ranks. He spent 10 years across two stints at the helm of Hargrave Military Academy, going 262-17 along the way, and Keatts could see himself becoming a life-long, successful coach at the prep ranks. But when then-Louisville coach Rick Pitino came calling in 2011, it was too great of an offer to pass up. What made Keatts an attractive candidate to be an assistant under Pitino, the two-time national champion winning coach, was his recruiting prowess.  As a prep school coach, Keatts needed to recruit a new team every year. That meant bringing in 12 to 13 players every offseason, preparing for the next year. While that allowed him to break into the high major coaching ranks more than a decade ago, Keatts’ recruiting background is paying off in the new age of college athletics with the transfer portal at NC State.