A top prospect reclassifying should be great news for Louisville’s 5-star pursuits

With another top prospect in the mix for the 2026 class, Pat Kelsey can make up ground he's lost in his pursuit of Tyran Stokes.
Team Durant’s Babatunde Oladotun (4)
Team Durant’s Babatunde Oladotun (4) | Chris Day/The Commercial Appeal / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The news of the day in college basketball is that five-star recruit Babatunde Oladotun is reclassifying from the 2027 class to 2026. The 6-foot-9, 175-pound wing was the No. 1 player in the 2027 class and will feature prominently in the top 10 for the 2026 group, among crucial Louisville recruiting targets like Tyran Stokes. 

Oladotun is following the blueprint laid by Cooper Flagg and 2025 top recruit AJ Dybantsa, who both reclassified to begin their collegiate careers early. Oladotun won’t turn 17 years old until December, so he will not be 18 until midway through his one-and-done college season. 

As Dushawn London of 247Sports reports, Oladotun’s primary interest is not the Louisville Cardinals, though Pat Kelsey’s program has offered him a scholarship. Instead, he will likely be deciding between Gonzaga, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky, and Duke as his recruitment inevitably heats up after this news. He will, however, draw the attention of those powerhouse programs away from Louisville’s top targets and potentially allow the Cardinals to make up the ground they’ve lost with Stokes. 

Baba Oladotun’s reclassification could swing Tyran Stokes back to Louisville

Stokes is currently the No. 1 player in the 2026 class, and the Louisville native is trending toward the Kentucky Wildcats. Kansas is also likely ahead of Louisville in the race for his commitment. Official visits to those blue-blood programs swayed the momentum in their direction and away from Pat Kelsey, but Thursday’s news could shake up the entire top of the class. 

Stokes and Oladotun play the same position and have similar styles. They could co-exist for a college season because they are both capable shooters who have displayed the ability to play off the ball, but it’s unlikely that they’ll end up in the same place, competing for shots and the spotlight. If Oladotun becomes set on Kentucky, it could force Stokes to reconsider Louisville. 

With Stokes slipping away, Louisville needed something drastic to happen before his commitment, and Oladotun’s reclassification may have been the perfect thing. 

Tay Kinney still Louisville’s most likely 2026 five-star

Regardless of where Kelsey’s program stands in the recruitment of Stokes, five-star point guard Tay Kinney is the program’s most likely five-star in the 2026 class. According to Kinney, Kelsey has made it clear that he is “their guy”, and after Louisville missed out on five-star guard Jordan Smith, their pursuit has only intensified. 

Kelsey has proven he can build a roster through the transfer portal, so missing out on top high school talent won’t submarine the program. But if he’s unable to at least land Kinney, then the 2026 recruiting cycle could become a disaster.