Louisville football suffered a crushing blow as one of their top wide receiver commitments just flipped his commitment after committing to the Cardinals on January 8. Hardley Gilmore IV committed to Louisville as a 3-star transfer, but he has a lot of potential and high expectations, as he was a former 4-star recruit out of high school.
However, that was short-lived as the Kentucky transfer announced this morning that he will flip his commitment to the Baylor Bears. The Cardinals have one of the best recruiting classes in the nation, ranking as a consensus top-10 class by on3 Sports and 247 Sports.
BREAKING: Kentucky transfer WR Hardley Gilmore has flipped his commitment from Louisville to Baylor, @PeteNakos reports🐻
— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal) January 12, 2026
Gilmore has officially signed with the Bears.https://t.co/kSYG7dZ8sR pic.twitter.com/fYwI5PDGZb
While Gilmore wasn’t a top-ranked recruit in the transfer Portal, he was expected to play a major role in 2026 in the Cardinals' wide receiver room. So, with Louisville losing a key wide receiver from their transfer portal class, the Cards are forced to go back to the drawing board and try to get at least one more receiver.
Louisville football loses key Kentucky transfer
Gilmore was one of five Kentucky transfers to commit to Louisville so far this offseason, and was one of two wide receivers, as he committed after Montavin Quisenberry. The wide receiver room was one of the biggest areas of need entering this offseason, as Louisville lost major pieces from last season, and Gilmore was one of the first dominoes to fall their way.
Gilmore, committed to Louisville, is ranked as high as a 3-star transfer, and as of now, he is currently ranked No. 747 overall and the No. 135-ranked wide receiver in the Transfer Portal. The former 4-star recruit out of high school committed to Kentucky over Penn State, Georgia, Michigan, and many other Power Four teams. He was ranked as high as No. 317 in the nation out of high school.
Last season with the Wildcats, he logged 28 catches for 313 yards and a touchdown, showing significant improvement after catching 6 passes for 153 yards and a touchdown as a true freshman. The Cards will go back to the drawing board once again and try to replace Gilmore and land at least one more wide receiver this offseason.
Some of Louisville's top remaining wide receiver targets include Texas transfer DeAndre Moore Jr. and Syracuse transfer Darrell Gill Jr.
Related: 2 Dream, 2 reach, 2 realistic WR targets for Louisville football
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