Louisville basketball has two clear top targets in the 2026 recruiting class, and those are the Kentucky natives Tyran Stokes and Taylen Kinney. The Cardinals are all-in on both prospects and have made it clear they want these two 5-stars.
However, with Kansas surging for Kinney and Kentucky on the rise for Stokes, it is becoming clear that Louisville needs a Plan B. The Cards may still be the frontrunners for Kinney and Stokes, but the last thing Louisville wants is to strike out and miss out on these elite 2026 recruits.
A prospect the Cardinals have grown a relationship with over the past year is New Jersey native and 5-star point guard Deron Rippey Jr. Well, after the latest news on Rippey, it is clear the Cardinals' window is now, and they must make a move.
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Louisville must capitalize on Deron Rippey Jr. recruiting news
Recently, Rippey cut his list down to just 10 schools, which included Duke, North Carolina, Miami, Syracuse, North Carolina State, Tennessee, Alabama, Kentucky, Texas, and, of course, Louisville.
It was just reported by Rivals Joe Tipton that the Crimson Tide might be out of the race, as the 5-star point guard scratched his visit this weekend, and it is unknown if he will reschedule.
5⭐️ Deron Rippey Jr. is no longer taking an official visit to Alabama this weekend, source told @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) September 10, 2025
It’s TBD whether or not it’ll be rescheduled. https://t.co/dWt7i4iECn pic.twitter.com/cRCdCBpiX1
Louisville has already earned an official visit from Rippey back in November 2024, and in April, Jermaine Ukaegbu visited Rippey's high school to watch him practice. The Cardinals then continued their relationship throughout the summer, watching many of his games at various events.
However, after Duke took an in-house visit to Rippey last week, it appears the Blue Devils are the frontrunners. Well, now that he scratched the Tide from his visit list and might take off his list in general, the Cardinals have a prime opportunity to make a move and crawl back up in the race.
The Cardinals fans want Kinney desperately, and they might still be the frontrunner for him, but Rippey was the MVP of multiple summer basketball camps this offseason and ranks as high as the No. 2 point guard and No. 8 player in the nation.
With Louisville's ACC rivals and blue-blood programs in Duke and North Carolina still in the running and the favorites, it might be crucial for Kelsey to make an in-house visit before Rippey visits the rest of the schools on his list.
Related: Louisville basketball jumps Kansas and Indiana after crucial update from 5-star PG
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.