Louisville basketball and Pat Kelsey might have just received a golden opportunity to land 5-star transfer, John Blackwell. The Cardinals are one of six teams on Blackwell’s final list, as the Cards are in a heated recruiting battle with UCLA, Duke, Illinois, Arizona, and Alabama for the Wisconsin transfer.
5 players on Louisville's Transfer Portal wish list after landing Karter Knox
However, the Cardinals appear to have received major help from Illinois and Andrej Stojakovic, as the 6-foot-7 shooting guard has elected to return to the Fighting Illini, making it certainly feel like Illinois is out of the race for Blackwell.
Illinois guard Andrej Stojakovic will return to the Illini next season, his agent Drake U’u told @On3.
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) April 17, 2026
The 6-7 junior averaged 13.5 points and 4.6 rebounds per game this season. Scored 21 points in the Round of 32 against VCU and 17 in the Elite Eight against Iowa.… pic.twitter.com/v6iE9R39sN
Illinois just helped Louisville out big time to land John Blackwell
Louisville has made a major push for the 5-star transfer this week, as 4-star transfer commit Jackson Shelstad put his recruiting hat on with a simple “No Sir” comment when the Wisconsin transfer posted him in a UCLA uniform, and the big update was that Kelsey made a trip out to California to visit Blackwell earlier this week. Now, after Kelsey and Shelstad’s recruiting efforts, Louisville gets a boost from Illinois and Stojakovic.
Illinois was thought to be the favorite for the majority of Blackwell’s transfer recruiting process. On3 Sports had Illinois as the slight favorite over Duke, as Blackwell’s father, Glynn Blackwell, played for Illinois for four seasons from 1984 to 1988 and was third on the team in scoring in his senior season. Illinois was making a strong push for the Wisconsin transfer, but the first domino fell Louisville’s way when Illinois landed Providence transfer and the No. 2 shooting guard in the portal, Stefan Vaaks, and now it feels like they are removing themselves from the Blackwell race with Stojakovic returning.
Louisville will now likely be in a three-team race for Blackwell as the Cardinals, Bruins, and Blue Devils will try to capitalize and make a strong push for the 5-star transfer. Kelsey made that recent push by flying out to the Wisconsin transfer after his UCLA visit, but now he must take full advantage of Illinois dropping out of the race and go get his next star transfer.
Blackwell ranks No. 2 overall in the portal and No. 1 among shooting guards. The Cards have already landed a 5-star transfer and the No. 1 overall transfer, Flory Bidunga, and if Kelsey can work his magic and land Bidunga and Blackwell over Duke, then Louisville has a strong case to be one of the top National Title favorites entering the 2026-27 season.
Related: Projected Louisville lineup with Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad should terrify Duke
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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