Louisville basketball is officially in the offseason, but the work won’t stop anytime soon for Pat Kelsey and his crew. The Cardinals have zero 2026 commitments, which means they'll need another big Transfer Portal class if they want to return to the NCAA Tournament and end their Sweet Sixteen drought.
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Louisville had the No. 3-ranked Transfer Portal class last offseason after landing three 4-star transfers, and now, with Louisville losing multiple starters to eligibility, Kelsey needs another huge offseason. The Cardinals will lose four of its five starters plus two key bench pieces in Kobe Rodgers and Aly Khalifs.
When looking at Louisville’s roster next season, the Cardinals will have a lot to replace, but one area Kelsey will try to hit a home run in is the guard position.
Pat Kelsey and Louisville have a clear No. 1 portal target already
Louisville will have to replace Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, and Mikel Brown Jr., and, with the hope that Adrian Wooley returns and possibly runs point, Kelsey has a clear No. 1 choice right now in Stefan Vaaks.
Kelsey is a coach who loves to shoot 3’s, and with Louisville losing its top three shooters from last year, he will have to go find his knockdown shooter. The 6-foot-7, 206-pound freshman would give Louisville much-needed height and size in the backcourt next to Wooley, and he has the ability to take over the game, but is more than just a 3-point shooter.
Right now, he is the consensus No. 1 overall player in the Transfer Portal and is a consensus 4-star transfer. In his freshman season with Providence, Vaaks averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds, and 3.2 assists and shot 40.8 percent from the floor and 35 percent from the 3-point line.
He had a season-high eight made 3’s and scored 28 points against Butler in the Big East Tournament and followed it up with 23 points, five made 3’s against St. John’s in the loss. In the season, he made 2.9 3’s per game and made three or more 3’s in 17 games, five or more 3’s in six games, and then six or more 3’s in one game and eight or more 3’s in one.
Louisville will likely be heavily involved in the Transfer Portal, and with the Cardinals in dire need of some scorers, Kelsey should be heavily considering the Providence transfer.
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