Louisville basketball and football each had an eye-popping offseason. The Cardinals' two programs attacked the Transfer Portal and high school recruiting, as Pat Kelsey added nine players this offseason and landed the No. 1 Transfer Portal Class, while Jeff Brohm landed over 32 transfers from the Transfer Portal and the No. 5 Transfer Portal class.
So, with these two programs turning heads this offseason, we wanted to break down five newcomers Louisville basketball and Louisville football fans should be excited about.
5. Lincoln Kienholz
While Lincoln Kienholz hasn’t had much game-time experience in college football, the 4-star transfer from Ohio State was highly recruited out of high school. The Cardinals attacked the Transfer portal for the fourth year straight under Jeff Brohm, and the Cards quickly landed the Ohio State transfer.
Kienholz only threw the ball 36 times in three seasons with the Buckeyes, but Ohio State speaks very highly of him, and the 4-star was a top QB in the 2023 recruiting class. Coming out of high school, Kienholz ranked as high as No. 138 overall and No. 11 among quarterbacks. He threw for 9,100 yards and 104 touchdowns in his high school career, including his final season, where he threw for 3,422 yards and 46 touchdowns. In his final two seasons, the 4-star threw for a dominant 86 touchdowns to just 12 interceptions.
4. Obinna Ekezie Jr.
The Cardinals, for the second straight recruiting class, landed a 5-star prospect, as Pat Kelsey made a massive splash this offseason, landing 7-foot-2 Obinna Ekezie Jr. The dominant center originally ranked as high as No. 2 overall and No. 1 among centers in the 2027 recruiting class, but reclassified to the 2026 recruiting class, putting him on this upcoming roster.
Ekezie now ranks as high as No. 14 overall and No. 1 among centers in the 2026 recruiting class and is expected to make an immediate impact for Kelsey’s squad. The 7-foot-2 center averaged 17.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 1.8 blocks per game. Kelsey made some major splashes this offseason, and there is no question Ekezie is one of the biggest additions.
3. Tre Richardson
Louisville football lost its top wide receivers from this past season, Chris Bell and Caullin Lacy, but Jeff Brohm went to the Transfer Portal and got a speedy wide receiver from Vanderbilt, Tre Richardson. The 4-star transfer is the highest-rated addition from the Cardinals' Transfer Portal haul, ranking as high as No. 66 overall and No. 14 among wide receivers.
Brohm revealed at ACC media day that he has high expectations for Richardson, stating he wants the Vanderbilt transfer to have over  80 catches and 10 touchdowns this upcoming season. Last year with the Commodores, Richardson led the team with 806 receiving yards and seven touchdowns on 46 receptions. He had three games with 100 receiving yards or more, and the seven receiving touchdowns ranked No. 5 in the SEC.
2. Jackson Shelstad
Louisville basketball added nine players this offseason, and one of them was their replacement for Mikel Brown Jr. The former 5-star freshman got drafted No. 6 overall by the Brooklyn Nets, forcing Kelsey to attack the Transfer Portal, where he ultimately got a speedy point guard from Oregon, Jackson Shelstad.
Shelstad is a former 5-star recruit in the 2023 recruiting class, ranking as high as No. 24 overall and No. 6 among point guards. He has had three productive seasons with Oregon, making the All-Big Ten Third Team his sophomore season, and was trending towards being one of the top guards in the Big Ten this past season. Shelstad was having a career year, averaging 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game, while making 33 3-pointers in just 12 games. His season was cut short due to a hand injury, but he is fully healthy this offseason and is expected to be one of the Cardinals' top players.
1. Flory Bidunga
And of course, the No. 1 player Louisville fans are excited to watch in 2026-27 is the 5-star transfer from Kansas, Flory Bidunga. The Cardinals have desperately needed someone with a dominant paint presence on both ends of the floor, and Bidunga is going to fill that glaring flaw for the Cardinals.
The Kansas transfer won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award this past season, after averaging 2.6 blocks per game and finishing the year with a dominant 91 blocks. Each stat ranked in the top five in Division I basketball. Bidunga finished the year averaging 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds, while securing 13 double-doubles. Bidunga is going to be a dominant big man for the Cardinals, and Louisville fans are thrilled to watch a center with his skill.
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