Louisville basketball recently received some thrilling news: the Cardinals have made an elite recruit's final three list. Josh Irving is a recruit who has emerged as the Cardinals' top target after they struck out on Taylen Kiney and Colben Landrew.
Irving is a 4-star recruit who ranks as high as the No. 4 center in the 2026 class and ranks No. 40 in the nation. Louisville will now go head-to-head with Texas A&M and Kentucky to earn his commitment. Louisville earned an official visit back in September and also visited the 4-star.
However, since he visited both the Aggies and the Wildcats, and according to a report by Jacob Polacheck of KSR, the Cardinals fans are much closer to finding out if they will land their first 2026 commitment.
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Josh Irving gives a crucial commitment timeline update
Irving recently visited Kentucky, and during his interview with Polacheck, he provided a significant update on when he plans to commit. The reporter reported that he intends to make his decision next week, as he had planned to announce it after his USC visit. However, after cutting his list to three schools, he cancelled his visit to the Trojans.
"So far, I’m thinking about committing the week after my last visit, which this week, I go to USC," Irving stated.
The Cardinals fans are all-in on Irving as they want that first domino to fall their way. The Cards were in conversations with multiple top-50 recruits, but after striking out on many of them and with mid-October already upon us, Irving has quickly become Louisville's No. 1 target in the 2026 class.
All it takes is one player to commit, then shortly after, the program usually sees multiple players follow. Irving has the power to recruit other commits to Louisville, as he is a 6-foot-11 athletic power forward who is an elite rim protector.
The Cardinals are still in the running for some elite 5-stars, including Tyran Stokes, Deron Rippey Jr., Jaxon Richardson, and Ikenna Alozie. If Louisville can land Irving, the dream would be for the Cardinals to pair the elite defender with another superstar from the 2026 class.
Irving's commitment date is not yet official, but according to this report, Louisville fans are about to hear some either exciting news or more crushing news from the 2026 recruiting class.
Related: Louisville aims to land first 2026 commitment with crucial visit from elite prospect
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.