With June quickly approaching, the recruiting season is here, and the Louisville Cardinals are emerging as top targets for multiple recruits. While the Cardinals have yet to land a commitment from the 2026 class, Louisville basketball is clearly one of the top recruiters in the nation, having made offers to multiple five-star recruits.
Pat Kelsey and his staff have one goal in mind when recruiting, and that is to attract the best of the best. Louisville demonstrated to the transfer portal that it can land superstars and is rising as one of the top programs in college basketball.
Louisville basketball is now trending towards three 5-star recruits as these three 2026 targets took a step in the right direction. While it wasn't Louisville doing the recruiting, it was their sponsor, Adidas.
Louisville basketball trending for trio of 5-star recruits after key boost
The Cardinals first got sponsored by Adidas in 1998 and have been their sponsor ever since. Louisville is one of the few programs sponsored by Adidas, alongside other notable programs including Kansas, Indiana, Texas A&M, North Carolina State, and Miami.
Well, these programs received excellent news on Wednesday afternoon as three 2026 5-star recruits decided to accept a sponsorship with Adidas, making them early favorites to land these 5-stars. Taylen Kinney, Anthony Thompson, and Caleb Holt are all elite 5-star players in the 2026 cycle, and all just announced that they will be part of the Adidas family.
Louisville recently learned that they made Thompson's final 15 schools, as the 5-star forward cut his list in half. The 6-foot-8 Ohio native is ranked as high as the No. 5 overall player in the 2026 class and the best player out of Ohio. Louisville made their offer to Thompson back in July of 2024.
Full story: Louisville basketball making a push for elite 5-star wing in 2026 recruiting battle
As for Kinney, he is emerging as a top target for the Cardinals after Mikel Brown Jr. declares for the 2026 NBA Draft. The 5-star point guard is ranked as the No. 16 overall player in the 2026 cycle, the fourth-best point guard, and the second-best player out of Georgia. Louisville is in an early battle with Kentucky for the 5-star guard, as the Wildcats have the best chance of landing Kinney, according to On3 Sports, with a 25.8 percent chance, and Louisville's 22.6 percent chance is the second-best chance to land the elite guard.
Full story: Louisville basketball trending with 5-star 2026 point guard
Holt was on the Cardinal's radar the earliest as Louisville made their offer to the No. 3 ranked player in the 2026 cycle in May of 2024. This consensus 5-star wing is ranked as high as the best shooting guard in the class and is a consensus top seven player in the cycle. The 5-star ranked No. 1 out of Georgia and is emerging as one of the best guards in the class.
Just because Adidas now sponsors these three players doesn't mean they will commit to an Adidas school. However, it is a positive sign for Louisville that these three 5-star recruits signed with Adidas, and it represents a small step in the right direction. The Cardinals are in an early battle with Kansas, Miami, and others for these three 5-star recruits, as the sponsorship does suggest that these 5-star recruits would be inclined to commit to an Adidas program.
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.