Louisville basketball has been on a recruiting surge these last couple of weeks, as Pat Kelsey has now landed multiple 2026 recruits. The Cardinals have landed six transfers from the Transfer Portal and now three recruits from the 2026 recruiting class, including 4-star wing Boyuan Zhang.
Louisville basketball's projected depth chart for the 2026-27 season
Zhang is the most recent addition to Louisville’s 2026-27 roster, as the 4-star committed Monday evening. He ranks as high as No. 46 in the 2026 recruiting class and is coming off a dominant season in the Nike EYBL Scholastic League, where he averaged the second-most points per game at 20.2.
Before Zhang, Louisville added two 2027 recruits who reclassified to the 2026 class, as 5-star Obinna Ekezie Jr. and Isaac Ellis, who will now both be part of this Final Four push and join Louisville this upcoming season. So, with Louisville getting a few 2026 recruits to commit, and the Cardinals now ranked in the top 20 for the class of 2026, let’s break down what Louisville’s starting five will look like.
Point guard: Jackson Shelstad
At point guard, the elite Oregon transfer, Jackson Shelstad, will get the nod to replace Mikel Brown Jr. The former 5-star was trending toward a career season this past season, but played just 12 games due to an injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the year. In those 12 games, he averaged 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, 2.9 rebounds, and 1.4 steals per game while also making 33 3-pointers.
Before that season, he made the All-Big Ten Third Team his sophomore season and the Pac-12 All-Freshman Team his true freshman year. He has an experienced backup point guard in London Johnson. Shelstad commits to Louisville, ranked No. 18 overall and No. 4 among point guards from the Transfer Portal.
Shooting Guard: Adrian Wooley
Louisville’s starting shooting guard will be one of the two key returners Pat Kelsey brought back. Adrian Wooley is expected to take a big step forward and become the elite playmaker and scorer he was in his freshman season at Kennesaw State. In his true freshman year, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 1.4 steals per game while shooting 51%.2 percent from the field and 41.2 percent from beyond the arc and splashed 73 3’s.
He transferred to Louisville, ranked as a 5-star and No. 9 overall in the portal, and now, after one season with the Cards, Louisville fans are excited to see him as a starter and one of the main scorers. He showed he is a crafty guard who can be an efficient scorer, and now, after patiently waiting for his time, he will look to take that leap this year. Behind Wooley, Louisville will have 4-star transfer De'Shayne Montgomery, a two-way guard who averaged 13.4 points and 2.1 steals per game.
Small Forward: Karter Knox
At small forward, former 5-star recruit and Arkansas transfer Karter Knox will be the Cardinals' starter. The 4-star transfer comes to Louisville with high expectations, as he was one of Louisville’s top targets in the 2024 recruiting class. Now, he comes to Louisville after playing two seasons with John Calipari at Arkansas.
With Arkansas, he showed flashes of brilliance, which is why he was a 5-star. He averaged 8.3 points and 3.3 rebounds, shot 46.2 percent from the field his freshman season, and this past year he averaged 8.1 points and 4.5 rebounds, and shot 46 percent from the field. Knox started in 42 of 58 games with Arkansas and played in only 22 this past season, missing all of March due to an injury. He scored 15 and 20 points in Arkansas' NCAA Tournament run two years ago and now commits to Louisville, ranked No. 60 overall and No. 7 among small forwards. Louisville’s latest addition, Boyuan Zhang, will likely be Knox’s backup at the small forward position.
Power Forward: Alvaro Folgueiras
The power forward position could be tricky later in the season, but for right now, we think Kelsey will start the Iowa transfer, Alvaro Folgueiras. The 6-foot-10 power forward is a true power forward who can space the floor out and knock some 3-pointers down, but can also score in the paint if he has to. Folgueiras had his best year with Robert Morris in his sophomore season, when he averaged 14.1 points, 9.1 rebounds, 1.2 blocks, and 1.4 steals per game while also making 45 3’s on 41.3 percent from beyond the arc.
He then transferred to Iowa, where he averaged 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds off the bench this past season. He made 36 3-pointers for the Hawkeyes, including the game-winning 3-pointer against Florida in the Round of 32 in the NCAA Tournament. Behind Folgueiras, Louisville doesn’t have a true power forward at the moment, but it wouldn’t be shocking if 5-star commit Obinna Ekezie Jr. gets some power forward minutes. Ekezie commits as a center, but at 7-foot, 215-pounds, he is an athletic center who made it clear he wants to learn the “4” position.
Louisville basketball fans dream of perfect 5-star transfer for Final Four push
Center: Flory Bidunga
And at the center position, Louisville will have its biggest addition this offseason, the Kansas transfer, Flory Bidunga. The 5-star transfer commits to Louisville after a dominant year with the Jayhawks, as the 5-star averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game and shot 64 percent from the field.
He also averaged 2.6 blocks per game and recorded a dominant 91 blocks on the season, ranking him in the top five in Division I basketball in both categories. Bidunga secured 13 double-doubles last season and is expected to be a defensive anchor for the Cardinals this upcoming season, as he won the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award. Behind Bidunga, Ekezie will definitely get minutes here as well, as he ranked No. 1 among centers in the 2027 and 2026 recruiting classes. Louisville also added Gabe Dynes, who is 7-foot-5, and, in his sophomore season before transferring to USC,, ranked second in Division I basketball, averaging 3.1 blocks per game.
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