Louisville basketball is one of five teams remaining in Nate Ament's top five schools, as he announced yesterday.
The 6-foot-9, and 185 pounds small forward a consensus 5-star prospect in the class of 2025, and is the unanimous No. 4 overall prospect, and No. 2 shooting guard. The only small forward Ament is behind is the No. 1 overall prospect, AJ Dybantsa.
In Ament's junior season at Highland School he had an stacked stat line as he averaged 19.3 points, 7.8 rebounds, 4.0 blocks, and 3.7 assists per game. Louisville basketball even in Ament's final five schools is an accomplishment itself.
Nate Ament being interested in becoming a Louisville Cardinals reveals a bigger picture about Pat Kelsey and his program, and it is priceless.
Louisville basketball is finally an attractive destination for star players
The Louisville basketball program is becoming a place where four and five-star superstars want to play, and that becomes more evident every single day in this recruiting season.
Louisville basketball landed 5-star prospect and McDonalds All-American Mikel Brown Jr, as he is ranked eighth overall according to On3 Sports, No. 7 overall , according to 247Sports, and No. 11 in ESPN's 100. Brown Jr. was the first domino to fall, and Cardinals fans begin to dream about the dream fit of Mikel Brown Jr. paired up with Nate Ament, and others.
Pat Kelsey and his cardinals were picked by Brown Jr. over blue-blood programs like Kentucky and Kansas, and current No. 4 team in the country Alabama.
Brown Jr. is thrilled to be a Cardinal and he wants to be one of the main reasons to bring Louisville basketball historic culture back. The commitment of Brown shattered the recent narrative that Louisville basketball program is not relevant or isn't an attractive destination for some of the best recruits in the nation.
UofL is also trending towards landing No. 1 overall prospect in the class of 2026, Tyran Stokes. On3Sports gives the Cardinals a dominant 66.8% chance to land the consensus No. 1 prospect.
Stokes made one official visit to Louisville back in October of 2024, and then would also go on to play with Team USA U17 World Cup over the summer. The 6-foot-7 and 230 lbs power forward averaged 12.3 points, seven rebounds, and 5.6 assists,1.9 steals and 1.1 blocks in the World Cup tournament, and earned All-Second Team in the World Cup.
The trend of 5-star prospects being excited about coming to play for Pat Kelsey and his Louisville Cardinals is more prominent then ever thanks to Nate Ament. Ament is one of the best rising stars in high school right now and has potential to be a first-round NBA Draft pick in 2026.
Louisville basketball officially got rid of their recent reputation from the past five years, and are back to relevancy. Cardinals turnaround in this recruiting area should only lead to greatness for years to come down the line. Louisville basketball seems like they are trending back to the 2010's era and becoming a national championship contenders, and Pat Kelsey and company have helped regain that narrative back.
UofL being a contender for 5-star recruits is slowly turning their program as one of the most attractive destinations in the college basketball. Ament reportedly wants to be apart of this team because of Coach Carr and Pat Kelsey's "enthusiasm" and the possibility of teaming up with fellow 5-star prospect, Mikel Brown Jr.
Louisville basketball fans, even if Ament doesn't pick the Cardinals it doesn't change the fact that Ament heavily-considered the program, and only shows that the future is bright for Pat Kelsey and this Lousiville basketball program.