Louisville makes early move for elite 5-star SF as Cardinals battle Kentucky and Duke

On June 15, college basketball programs could officially contact recruits in the 2028 recruiting class. Louisville basketball has been trending as one of the rising programs in recruiting since Pat Kesey arrived, as he quickly landed two 5-stars in his first two years at the Cardinals.

Pat Kelsey and Louisville waste no time targeting Kentucky's top-ranked 2028 prospect

Now, Kelsey will look to carry that momentum into the 2027 and 2028 recruiting classes. And with Louisville now officially able to reach out to these 2028 recruits, the Cards took full advantage, contacting multiple 4-star and 5-star targets.

One of the 5-star targets is Evan Willis, who is one of the top recruits in the nation, and when looking at who else called the 5-star small forward on June 15, Louisville fans will quickly realize they are in an early recruiting battle with their in-state rival, the Kentucky Wildcats, and ACC powerhouse the Duke Blue Devils.

Louisville basketball targeting elite 5-star SF Evan Willis

As expected, multiple major programs reached out to Willis. Kelsey and Louisville were among them, but so were Mark Pope and the Kentucky Wildcats and Jon Scheyer and the Duke Blue Devils, according to Big Blue Dylan.

Also reaching out to the 5-star was Georgia, Houston, Nebraska, Ohio State, and Utah.

As of now, Willis has 14 offers, including from North Carolina State, Georgia, Nebraska, USC, Virginia Tech, Cal, Missouri, and others. The Cards are now trying to put themselves on his radar and emerge in the early stages of this recruiting battle, and it appears Kentucky and Duke are doing the same thing.

Louisville has had a recruiting battle with both programs all offseason: the Cardinals battled Kentucky for 4-star target De'Shayne Montgomery, which Kentucky won, and then battled Kentucky for 5-star Milan Momcilovic, which Kentucky won. As for Duke, the Cardinals beat Duke in the recruiting battle for the No. 1 overall transfer, Flory Bidunga, and then the Blue Devils won the recruiting battle over Louisville for 5-star transfer John Blackwell.

Now, these three powerhouse programs are in an early recruiting battle for the 5-star small forward. Willis is an athletic two-way forward who can score in multiple ways on one end, including from beyond the arc, and be a complete disruptor on defense, making a massive impact on both ends.

Willis ranks as high as No. 7 in the 2028 recruiting class, No. 4 among small forwards and No. 2 among recruits from California. Louisville is looking to make another big-time splash in the 2028 recruiting class, and of the recruits the Cards reached out to on June 15, Willis is towards the top of the list.

Other notable recruits the Cardinals reached out to on June 15 was Kentucky natives Josh Lindsay and Jordan Mitchell.

Also read: Pat Kelsey and Louisville waste no time targeting Kentucky's top-ranked 2028 prospect

For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.

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