Louisville basketball recently missed out on another top target. Pat Kelsey and the Louisville Cardinal staff continue to struggle with this 2026 recruiting class, which comes as a surprise, as many fans thought this class would be different.
After Louisville landed Mikel Brown Jr., many thought that was the flip this program needed to become an elite recruiting school, and with Taylen Kinney and Tyran Stokes in the 2026 class, it looked like Louisville could be a top spot. However, the Cardinals struck out on Kinney, then Colben Landrew, now Irving, and most likely Stokes.
So, after Louisville struck out on their top targets and the Cards have an underwhelming 2026 recruiting class, they must turn to one thing—the Transfer Portal.
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Louisville basketball is due for another massive Transfer Portal run
The Cardinals were all in on this 2026 recruiting class and were hearing excellent news in the beginning. Kelsey and his staff were flying all over the country to recruit and were making 5-star updated recruiting lists, but when it got to the actual commitments, unfortunately, the luck hadn't fallen Louisville's way.
So, now that the Cards have zero commitments from high school for the 2026 class, Louisville must turn to the Transfer Portal. Kelsey showed last year that he can dominate the Transfer Portal when the University provides the money, and hopefully, they can do the same thing again next offseason.
Louisville landed three elite players from the portal last offseason, and with the Cardinals having yet to earn a commitment from the 2026 class, it has become critical for this program's future that Kelsey has another massive offseason in 2026.
The Cardinals are going to lose a lot of key players from this roster as they will be without Mikel Brown Jr., Ryan Conwell, Isaac McKneely, Aly Khalifa, and more. This program is going to need some help from the Transfer Portal yet again, and that has become crystal clear with the Cardinals' recent whiffs.
The Cardinals have a few targets they are still in the running for, but as of now, it looks like Louisville must go the Transfer Portal route, which isn't bad. The Cardinals fans have seen how that plays out and how it can be even better than going the high school route. But now, the recent misses add a bit more pressure on Kelsey to repeat what he did in 2025.
With Louisville missing out on these recruits, the fans have full faith in Kelsey to dominate the portal for another year. Kelsey has proven he can be an elite recruiter, especially with the portal, and the fans believe he can pull off another successful offseason in 2026.
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.