Louisville basketball made some massive offseason moves, putting the Cardinals back in the national spotlight. The Cards' 2025-26 season didn’t go how many had hoped and dreamed, as the Cardinals struggled in the big-time games against ranked opponents.
Louisville entered the season with Final Four dreams, but with their 5-star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. out for the ACC Tournament and the NCAA Tournament, the Cardinals faced an uphill battle. Louisville went on to win their first game against USF and then lost to Michigan State in the second round, leaving Cardinals fans with a sour taste to end the season.
However, the Cardinals have high expectations entering the 2026-27 season, and once again, a big reason is because of some freshmen.
Louisville basketball fans can't wait to watch these two freshman
When looking at who Louisville brought in this offseason, Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad get a lot of the spotlight. The two veteran transfers were among the top-ranked transfers in the portal, with Bidunga ranked as a 5-star transfer and No. 1 overall while Shelstad ranked No. 18 overall and a 4-star transfer.
However, another reason this Cardinals team has such high expectations is their depth. And when looking at the depth and potentially the first two players off the bench, the Cardinals fans are circling their two incoming freshmen, 5-star Obinna Ekezie Jr. and 4-star Boyuan Zhang.
These two freshmen are poised to have massive roles for the Cardinals. Of the two, Ekezie gets a lot of the attention, as the 5-star center ranked No. 1 overall in the 2027 recruiting class before he reclassified to the 2026 class. Now, he ranks No. 14 overall and No. 1 among centers, and is expected to be a dominant big behind Bidunga.
Louisville desperately missed a presence in the paint last year, and Ekezie is poised to make his presence felt on both ends of the floor. The Cardinals heard the Louisville fans this offseason as they voiced that they wanted height and physicality, and at 7-foot-2, Ekezie brings just that.
As for Zhang, the 4-star freshman is quickly turning heads this offseason. Zhang is quickly becoming Louisville's 3-point sharpshooter, going viral for making 14 straight 3s at practice. On3 Sports Jamie Shaw is incredibly high on the 4-star, reporting the Cards 6-foot-9 small forward is a sniper” and a “real shooter.”
Louisville needed to add a 3-point shooter this offseason, losing its top three 3-point shooters in Mikel Brown Jr., Ryan Conwell, and Isaac McKneely. And while Kelsey didn’t really address it in the portal, he secretly added it from the 2026 recruiting class.
Zhang is going to surprise many college basketball fans who don’t know about him. The 4-star freshman ranked as high as No. 49 in the 2027 cycle and No. 19 among small forwards after he averaged the second-most points per game at the Nike EYBL Scholastic League with 20.2 points per game.
So, the Cardinals Transfer Portal additions should get a lot of attention, and they are a huge reason why this team is ranked as high as No. 5 in Fox Sports preseason rankings, but the rest of the ACC and college basketball should be ready for Ekezie and Zhang because they are poised for a breakout season.
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