In a summer full of coaching and administrative changes, the University of Connecticut men's basketball team got another one on Tuesday night, as it was reported that former graduate assistant Rich Kelly has taken a position with the Boston Celtics.

As noted by CT Insider, Kelly will work with the Maine Celtics, the G-League affiliate of Boston.

Kelly played college basketball from 2017-22, playing for both Quinnipiac and Boston College. With Quinnipiac, he made the MAAC All-Rookie team in 2018, and he was a Second-Team All-Conference selection in 2019 and 2020. After Quinnipiac, he transferred to BC, where he averaged 13 ppg. He joined Dan Hurley's staff afterwards, serving as a graduate assistant.

He's obviously still young, and there will be questions about if he's ready for a professional challenge, but given how young many of the G-League players are, the age shouldn't be perceived as a negative. He will come off as relatable and in tune with the modern game, which will help him connect with his players.

Furthermore, having worked for Hurley is essentially having worked with a professional coach already. That should also give him a leg up.

He was part of UConn teams that went to two national titles, winning in 2024. With the Celtics, he'll potentially have a chance to work with Chris Cenac Jr. and Dillon Mitchell, who Boston drafted this year. Mitchell played at St. John's, so Kelly has seen him before.

The Red Storm beat UConn out for the Big East regular season and tournament titles in 2025-26, but UConn did earn a No. 2 seed in the NCAA Tournament before losing to Michigan in the national title game.

Earlier this summer, UConn lost general manager Tom Moore to retirement. The former Quinnipiac head coach and longtime UConn staffer stepped away, opening the door for the team to hire Charlie Stevens as its next GM.

Stevens spent the last five years with the San Antonio Spurs after graduating college in 2021. He is also young, but his professional experience should help him navigate the challenges of balancing coaching, recruiting, film study, the transfer portal and NIL.

In addition to Stevens, Hurley's son Andrew was named as the program's assistant GM.

UConn will continue practicing on its own before the start of official practice in late September. The Huskies will open up the exhibition season on Oct. 13 against Syracuse in a game played at Mohegan Sun.