The Transfer Portal is officially open, and Louisville basketball is a team that nearly everyone is talking about right now. The Cardinals took a big step last offseason when the program backed Pat Kelsey up and gave him $8-10 million to spend on the Transfer Portal, and now it is reported that Louisville will be in the same NIL money range again this season.
Louisville basketball doubling down with massive amount of NIL money for Pat Kelsey
Well, with the portal officially open, the Cardinals fans are learning who will visit Louisville this weekend, and who Louisville is becoming a finalist for, and it proves that Kelsey and the Cardinals have “elite buying power.”
247Sports' Adam Finkelstein, the Director of Scouting, recently reported that the Cards have major NIL power and are pursuing top portal talent.
Louisville basketball has 'elite buying power'
Recently, Finkelstein reported that Louisville has “elite buying power” and the Cardinals are reaching out to the best players in the Transfer Portal.
"They are throwing bags at everyone, meaning they have elite buying power. Some of the names we are hearing associated with them right now are Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad, Dedan Thomas, Miles Byrd, Juke Harris, basically all of the best players in the portal. Now, how many of them can Louisville afford at the same time? That remains to be seen, but they were widely reported to have one of the biggest budgets in college basketball last offseason, based on what they are doing so far this season, and who they are reaching out to, the expectation is that they have those types of resources again.”"
Louisville is poised to be a major player in the portal this cycle.
— 247Sports (@247Sports) April 8, 2026
“They have elite buying power,” says @AdamFinkelstein
Don’t be surprised if the Cardinals are heavily involved with some of the top prospects — including No. 1 overall transfer Flory Bidunga 👀 pic.twitter.com/w8Tc1ML61F
It is exactly what the Cardinals fans want to hear that Louisville has that ‘elite buying power’ and early on, Kelsey is doing what he should and is swinging for the fences and is earning visits from multiple top portal transfers.
Last offseason, Louisville proved it can be a top landing spot in the Transfer Portal, as Kelsey landed three elite transfers, all of whom ranked in the top 25, and now this year, it appears Kelsey and the Cardinals are looking to do it again. The Cards learned that they are a finalist for 4-star transfer Miles Byrd, who ranks No. 7 in the portal, and will host 5-star transfer Flory Bidunga, the No. 1 overall transfer in the portal, and the No. 8 overall transfer. 2 point guards in the portal, Jackson Shelstad, for an official visit on Friday, April 10.
Louisville’s Transfer Portal class ranked No. 3 in the nation last year, and early on, Kelsey is turning heads and grabbing college basketball fans' attention with who Louisville is trending with and who the Cards are making some noise with. The Cards fans saw last year that all it takes is that first portal commitment to happen, and then the dominoes will start to fall their way.
Related: 2 dream, 2 reach, and 2 realistic Transfer Portal targets for Louisville basketball
For all the latest news and updates on Louisville basketball's 2025-26 season and recruiting, stay tuned.