Louisville basketball's projected starting lineup for the 2025-26 season

Louisville basketball is having a massive offseason as the Cardinals have landed multiple players from the transfer portal and have only lost one player. The Cardinals found out last night that they will have senior J'Vonne Hadley return, and immediately, fans are speculating what the starting five and depth chart will look like.

Let's break down the early look at Pat Kelsey and his Louisville Cardinals rotation. Here are our predictions for the Cardinals' starting five, their rotation and depth chart.

Louisville basketball's projected starting five

PG: Mikel Brown Jr.

SG: Adrian Wooley

SF: Ryan Conwell

PF: Kasean Pryor

C: Sananda Fru

Related: Way-too-early starting five projection for the Louisville Cardinals 2025-26 season

Point Guard Position

Pat Kelsey has the No. 2 point guard from the class of 2025, Mikel Brown Jr. coming into the program. Brown is a unanimous 5-star recruit and is expected to be one of the nation's top playmakers after he displayed elite playmaking ability at the McDonald's All-American Game last week.

Kobe Rodgers will be Brown's backup. The transfer from Charleston will make his return after an injury in 2024. Rodgers showcased elite ball-handling and facilitating with Kelsey at Charleston, averaging 9.7 points, 4.6 rebounds, and 2.2 assists. He accomplished those stats while shooting 50 percent from the field and 45 percent from beyond the arc.

Related: The next big thing in College Basketball is heading to Louisville basketball

Shooting Guard Position

The Cardinal's shooting guard position is loaded with talent. Louisville brought three sharpshooters from the transfer portal, as all three newcomers are ranked in 247Sports top 15 transfer portal players.

We are predicting Adrian Wooley to be the starter. The 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Kennesaw State was a 5-star prospect and the No. 5 overall player in the portal. Last season, he averaged 18.8 points and 2.2 3-pointers per game on 42 percent from beyond the arc. He also added 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game.

Here is where it can get interesting: we are predicting Isaac McKneely to be the Cardinals' backup shooting guard and Ryan Conwell to be the third option. McKneely is one of the best shooters in the nation. He made 233 3-pointers in three seasons with Virginia and is an average 42 percent shooter from beyond the arc.

Related: 5 key reasons Adrian Wooley committed to the Louisville Cardinals over Alabama

Small Forward Position

The small forward position is tricky. The Cardinals will officially bring J'Vonne Hadley back for his final year and hope to see Khani Rooths, a former four-star recruit out of high school, make improvements. However, we are predicting Ryan Conwell will get the nod at a small forward, as it is hard to imagine Kelsey not running a three-guard rotation with the newcomers he is bringing in.

Louisville is expected to have one of the best backcourts in the nation, and Conwell is a part of that. The Xavier transfer made the All-Big East Third Team after he was the seventh-leading scorer with 16.5 points per game. The 215-pound guard will have to play up, but he will space out the floor as he shot 45 percent from the floor and 41.3 percent from beyond the arc last season.

Behind Conwell will be Hadley and then Rooths. Hadley will be a great role model to both players in the rotation, whether as a small forward or a forward, Hadley is too good to keep off the floor. It will be worth keeping an eye on Rooths. Hopefully, he will use this year to learn from these elite players ahead of him, but his minutes will be limited.

Related: 5 glaring reasons the Louisville Cardinals aced the Ryan Conwell commitment

Power Forward Position

The forward position is going to be hard to predict, as many speculate, but in our prediction, we think Kasean Pryor will return to the Cardinals and will get the starting nod. Following Pryor will be Aly Khalifa, followed by the freshman coming from Germany, Sananda Fru. J'Vonne Hadley could also see some minutes in the forward position if Kelsey wants to play the small ball lineup, but this is the prediction for Louisville's forwards.

It is also worth noting that James Scott might also see some power forward minutes this upcoming season. The Cardinals will have many options at the power forward position, as Kelsey's roster is loaded with height.

Related: 3 Cardinals that Louisville basketball must bring back for the 2025-26 season

Center Position

The Cardinals' center position will be led by Sananda Fru, James Scott, and Aly Khalifa. As of right now, we are predicting that the 6-foot-11, 240-pound freshman, Sananda Fru, will start for Kelsey. Fru will come in from Germany after dominating his time with Löwen Braunschweig. Last season overseas, he averaged 12.6 points and 5.6 rebounds per game while shooting 66.2% from the floor. He was also a dominant force on the defensive side as he averaged 0.9 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. Following Fru in this prediction will be Scott and then Khalifa.

Related: Pat Kelsey and Louisville basketball lands a dominant forward from Germany

Final Depth Chart Prediction