When Louisville basketball recruited Curtis Williams Jr., the Cardinals faithful had high expectations for the Detroit native. He was a consensus 4-star recruit who ultimately chose Louisville over Power Four programs such as Alabama, Florida State, Providence, and Xavier, among others, after earning over 11 offers.
Who's coming and who's going: Louisville basketball 2026 Transfer Portal tracker
However, his freshman season didn’t go quite as he had planned. Williams showed flashes of his 4-star potential with the Cardinals, starting in four games and playing in all 32 games, but he couldn’t find his shot at a consistent rate, shooting 31.7 percent from the field and 28.7 percent from beyond the arc.
Williams entered the Transfer Portal at the end of the season after averaging 5.3 points and 1.3 rebounds per game with the Cardinals, and later transferred to Georgetown. With the Hoyas, he continued to struggle, averaging 4.7 points per game, but shot better at 40.6 percent from the field.
Looking to be a true starter and play a bigger role, the Cardinals' former 4-star entered the transfer portal for the second season and played for Tulane this past year, where he showed his 4-star potential. Now, the former Louisville commit will enter the Transfer Portal for his third straight time.
Tulane junior Curtis Williams Jr. is entering the transfer portal, his agents @noah_reisenfeld and @Adie_vongontard told ESPN. Williams averaged 12.4 points and 4.8 rebounds this season. Scored 32 points in November against Boston College, had 27 against South Florida.
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 1, 2026
Curtis Williams Jr. enters the Transfer Portal for a third time
Williams is coming off his best collegiate season, averaging 12.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 1.3 steals per game. He shot 40.0 percent from the field and had his best season from beyond the arc at 33.5 percent, and made a career high 68 3’s with the Green Wave.
The former 4-star Louisville commit ranked as high as No. 79 in the 2023 class and No. 15 among small forwards, and now, after his best collegiate season, he will be available once again. The 6-foot-6, 180-pound wing showed he still has the potential to be an elite scorer in college basketball as he scored his career-high 32 points against Boston College, where he shot 12-of-18 from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc.
He scored 15 points or more 10 times, 20 points or more five times, 25 points or more three times, and his season high was the 32-point performance against the Eagles. Another notable performance this year came against Louisville’s first-round opponent, the USF Bulls, when he scored 27 points, knocking down five 3s on 41 percent shooting from 3-point range, and added six rebounds and three assists.
Williams will now hopefully get a chance to head back to a major conference and carry the momentum this past season into the 2026-27 season.
Related: 5 Louisville basketball players who definitely won’t be back for the 2026-27 season
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