Louisville basketball fans cannot wait for the 2026-27 season to begin, as Pat Kelsey has assembled one of the best rosters the Cardinals have seen in a long time. Louisville was trending as a top team in the nation this time last year, but the Cards got hit by the injury bug, and Mikel Brown Jr. missed 14 games, including the NCAA Tournament.
CBS Sports ranks Louisville right where Cardinals fans hoped after massive offseason
This offseason, the vibes feel a bit different. Kelsey dominated the Transfer Portal, landing the No. 1 overall transfer and securing the No. 1 overall portal class in the nation. On top of his dominant Transfer Portal run, he landed three recruits in the 2026 cycle, including 5-star Obinna Ekezie Jr.
So, now this Cardinals team is generating a lot of buzz, and it isn’t just from Louisville fans. Fox Sports recently updated its 2026-27 way-too-early rankings, and the Cards fans are going to absolutely love these rankings, while the Kentucky Wildcats fans are going to be very upset.
Fox Sports gives Louisville major bragging rights over Kentucky in new rankings
College basketball analyst Casey Jacobsen recently released his top-25, and the first thing Louisville fans will see is that the Cards are ranked No. 5 in the nation, and the very next thing they will see is Kentucky barely cracking the top-25, coming in at No. 25.
After an offseason full of portal moves and roster shakeups 👀
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) June 8, 2026
What stands out most in @cjacobsen23’s latest Top 25? pic.twitter.com/11tukiaos0
The Cardinals remain ranked as a unanimous top-15 team in these way-too-early rankings, and Louisville's No. 5 ranking from Fox remains their highest to date. The Cards' eye-popping portal haul, mixed with their three 2026 recruits, gets the respect it deserves from Jacobsen in these rankings, as Louisville has the roster and the depth to be National Title contenders.
Last season, Louisville’s frontcourt was a major issue, and Kelsey made the key adjustment and got one of the best two-way bigs in the nation, Flory Bidunga. On top of the 5-star transfer, he added the 5-star and No. 1 center in the 2026 cycle, Obinna Ekezie Jr., and the 7-foot-5 Kentucky native Gabe Dynes. Bidunga, Ekezie, and Dynes have the possibility to be one of the best frontcourts in the nation, and add former 5-star Karter Knox at the small forward, and 4-star transfer Alvaro Folgueiras at the power forward, who can space the floor and shoot from beyond the arc, and this team is poised for a deep postseason.
Other notable additions for Kelsey and Louisville include 4-star transfer Jackson Shelstad. The former 5-star point guard will join Adrian Wooley in Kelsey's backcourt, as Wooley is Kelsey's biggest returning Cardinal.
As for Kentucky, Louisville and the Wildcat fans have been going back and forth about who is better since the Cats landed Milan Momcilovic. As of right now, Louisville fans haven’t seen any rankings with Kentucky higher than the Cardinals, and Fox Sports just sent a loud message about who they think is better, with Kentucky barely making their top-25 and falling 20 spots behind Louisville.
The Cardinals and Wildcats will meet in Rupp Arena on Dec. 12, as Louisville tries to beat Kentucky in two straight seasons for the first time since 2007-08 and 2008-09.
Also read: Analyst just gave Louisville's Flory Bidunga bulletin-board material after bold prediction
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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