Former Titan Seth Tatum Finds A New Home In Charleston, South Carolina

Samuel Warren
Herald Staff
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Former three sport athlete for Mercer County Senior High School, Seth Tatum, has adjusted well to his new work environment following his appointment as Director of Basketball Operations with the College of Charleston early in April. Tatum enters his first administrative position following seven straight seasons of working with the University of Louisville men’s basketball program as a manager and graduate assistant. Former Cardinal Head Coach Chris Mack hired Tatum initially before the 2021-22 season, and now Tatum will be joining Mack and the Cougars, one of the most successful Division-I basketball programs over the last two seasons. The Cougars have amassed an impressive 58-12 record in the last two years while winning two consecutive Coastal Athletic Association tournament championships under former head coach Pat Kelsey, who joined the Louisville staff on March 28.

“I’m settling in well in Charleston. It’s a beautiful place to live and an amazing program to work for. They give us great resources to be successful and I’m super excited to do everything I can to help Coach Mack continue the winning tradition that Charleston basketball has had recently. The role is what I expected, I have my hand in a lot of different fields,” said Tatum.

Tatum will be handling a very broad workload as director of basketball operations. Everything from scheduling to travel procedures and videography to opponent scouting, Tatum’s position encompasses pretty much any behind the scenes task.

“It’s a really wide umbrella. It deals kind of with everything,” said Tatum.

Basketball has always played a significant role for Tatum. He recalls attending his father Spencer Tatum’s practices when he was the head coach at Harrodsburg High School in the early 2000’s. While a Titan, Tatum played basketball under three separate head coaches and experienced the most successful season in Titan basketball history in 2016-17. He also had success with David Buchanan and Adam Shartzer on the football and baseball teams respectively. While a Cardinal, Tatum worked under Rick Pitino, David Padgett, Mack, Kenny Payne and two interim head coaches. Tatum is attacking the new job head on and knows his history of working under great coaches has prepared him well for all of the new responsibilities.

“The diversity of coaches that I’ve been around really helped me to see the game from a lot of different angles and I really feel like that’s helped prepare me to be where I am today,” said Tatum. “I’m super grateful for those guys because they were all good to me, and they treated me well, and they’re a part of who I am today. The experiences that I have with them helped shape me and form me to who I am today.”