Every NCAA Transfer Portal player who committed to Louisville basketball so far

Louisville basketball is having a dominant offseason so far, as Pat Kelsey has this program buzzing in late April. The Cardinals had an underwhelming 2025-26 season, entering the season with Final Four dreams and expectations but falling short in the Round of 32 after losing to Michigan State.

Way-too-early starting five projection for the Louisville Cardinals 2026-27 season

Kelsey is now trying to rebuild his roster after losing nine of the top 10 guys from this past season, including all five starters. He is off to a red-hot start as he has the No. 1 overall portal class in the nation. While many may already know every commit so far, we wanted to break down who has committed to Louisville from the Transfer Portal this offseason and give a brief rundown of each transfer.

So, here are all the NCAA Transfer Portal players who have committed to Louisville basketball so far.

Karter Knox

We are going to start it off with the former 5-star recruit and 4-star transfer Karter Knox. The Cardinals were part of Knox's recruiting process back in 2024, where he ranked as high as No. 22 overall and No. 6 among small forwards in the 2024 cycle, but he committed to Kentucky and then flipped to John Calipari and Arkansas. Now, he was available once again, and this time, Louisville landed his commitment from the Transfer Portal.

Knox is a 4-star transfer after starting in 42 of his 58 games with the Razorbacks. He had an impressive true freshman season, averaging 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, and had a good NCAA Tournament run in 2025, scoring 15 points against St. John’s and 20 against Texas Tech. This past season, he had a season-ending injury in early February, but averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds while shooting 46 percent from the field and 38 percent from beyond the arc. He ranks as high as a 4-star transfer, No. 60 overall, and No. 6 among small forwards.

Alvaro Folgueiras

The most recent commitment for Kelsey and Louisville is the Iowa transfer, Alvaro Folgueiras. The Cardinals needed to address their frontcourt issues from this past season, and Folgueiras should be a big boost for Louisville this upcoming season. He spent his first two years at Robert Morris, where he really flourished in his sophomore season, averaging a near double-double of 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.7 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game.

He made a career-high 45 3’s that year while shooting 41.3 percent from beyond the arc, and won the Horizon League Player of the Year award. He then transferred to Iowa for one season, averaging 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. He is best known for his NCAA Tournament run this past year, when he hit the game-winning 3-pointer to beat Florida. He scored 14 points in rounds one and two, along with 16 points in the Sweet Sixteen. He is a stretch-four who has made 101 3’s in his first three years and commits to Louisville, ranked No. 66 overall and No. 16 among power forwards.

Jackson Shelstad

Louisville needed to replace its former 5-star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. after he announced he would declare for the NBA Draft, and Kelsey wasted no time landing Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad. The 4-star transfer ranked as high as a 5-star coming out of high school, and will now be Kelsey’s starting point guard in the 2026-27 season.

Shelstad made the Pac-12’s All-Freshman team his freshman season, followed by making the All-Big 10 Third-Team his sophomore season, and this past year, he was on pace to have a career season, but it was cut short because of an injury. The junior guard averaged 15.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.9 assists, and 1.4 steals per game in the first 12 games of the season. He also made 33 3’s and averaged 2.8 made 3’s per game, while shooting 31.4 percent from beyond the arc. He commits to Louisville, ranked No. 18 overall and No. 2 among point guards in the portal.

Flory Bidunga

The biggest addition this offseason for Kelsey and Louisville is, of course, the unanimous 5-star transfer and former 5-star recruit, Flory Bidunga. The Cardinals fans were begging Kelsey to go get an elite center, and he went out and got the unanimous No. 1 center in the Transfer Portal.

Bidunga is coming off an All-Big 12 First-Team and a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year season, as he averaged 13.3 points, 9.0 rebounds, and 2.6 blocks per game. He is an elite rim protector on one end as his 2.6 blocks per game ranked No. 5 in the nation, and his 91 total blocks ranked No. in the nation. He has a dominant paint presence, recording 13 double-doubles this past season and scoring 20 or more points five times. He commits to Louisville, ranked as a 5-star transfer, No. 1 overall in the portal, and No. 1 among centers.

For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.

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