Pat Kelsey and Louisville basketball went on a dominant recruiting run this spring, landing nine commitments, including six from the Transfer Portal and three from the 2026 recruiting class. The Cards landed two 5-stars, including 5-star transfer Flory Bidunga and 5-star 2026 recruit Obinna Ekezie Jr., and now they will look to carry that momentum to the 2027 recruiting class.
Kelsey has completely flipped Louisville’s recruiting, landing two historic commitments in his first two years as Mikel Brown Jr. ranks as the second-highest commitment in program history, and Ekezie is now right behind Brown as the third-highest commitment in program history. When looking at the 2027 cycle, a few names come to mind, but the Kentucky Wildcats just landed one of them as 5-star small forward Ryan Hampton just committed to Mark Pope and Kentucky.
Louisville extended an offer to Hampton in August, 2025, but didn’t gain much traction with the 5-star. However, now with Kentucky landing the No. 1 small forward in the 2027 recruiting class, the Cards have to make a strong push for their glaring No. 1 target, CJ Rosser.
NEWS: 5⭐️ Class of 2027 prospect Ryan Hampton has committed to Kentucky, he announced on Instagram pic.twitter.com/xApPKODlm7
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) June 7, 2026
CJ Rosser continues to be Louisville's No. 1 target
With Kentucky landing Hampton, Louisville’s No. 1 target is clear in the 2027 cycle. Earlier this year, Louisville and Kentucky were battling for the 5-star power forward, as the Cardinals hosted an unofficial visit from Rosser on January 26, when he was in attendance at the KFC Yum! Center for Louisville’s win over SMU. He then quickly followed up his visit with Louisville with an unofficial gameday visit to Kentucky, attending the Wildcats' game against Oklahoma on February 4.
Now that Louisville has seen two of its three 2027 commitments reclass to the 2026 class, the Cardinals have only one commitment so far, making Rosser toward the top of their priority list. The 6-foot-10, 200-pound forward is a fluid player on the court who can play through contact and score at an elite level.
The 5-star power forward ranks as high as the No. 1 overall recruit in the 2027 recruiting class, the No. 1 power forward and the No. 1 recruit out of Florida. Rosser is coming off a dominant 2025-26 season with Southeastern Prep, averaging 16.7 points, 6.7 rebounds, 1.6 blocks, 1.1 steals, and 1.3 assists per game.
Also worth mentioning is that Ekezie attended Southeastern Prep and was a teammate of Rosser this past season. So, if this year goes well for Louisville’s 5-star commit, maybe the Cardinals can try to team the two Southeastern Prep teammates up at the college level and create a dominant frontcourt with the two 5-stars.
Louisville wasn’t too involved with Hampton, so it isn’t crushing that he didn’t commit to the Cardinals, but with Kentucky landing the 5-star, it does add a bit of pressure to Kelsey to go try and match it. Rosser is trending as a clear top target for the Cardinals and Kelsey, and with Kentucky in the mix as well, the Cards want to try to avoid Pope landing two recruits in the top six.
Also read: Louisville and Kentucky collide in heated recruiting battle for nation’s No. 1 recruit
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