Louisville basketball has a dominant recruiting run this offseason, and now Pat Kelsey will look to carry that momentum into the class of 2027. The Cardinals landed a 5-star center in the Transfer Portal and a 5-star center in the 2026 recruiting class, and now they are looking to land a 5-star center in the 2027 class.
Pat Kelsey and Louisville basketball target nation's No. 1 recruit in 2028 class
Louisville has quickly emerged as an elite recruiting team since Kelsey arrived, landing four 5-stars, including two from the Transfer Portal and two from high school recruiting. Now, Kelsey is trying to improve that to three 5-stars from high school recruiting as Louisville received huge news Tuesday that they are one of the top teams in the mix for 5-star center Darius Wabbington.
The Cardinals are in a massive recruiting battle for this elite center, and Kelsey is up against his biggest rival, Mark Pope, and the Kentucky Wildcats.
Louisville basketball in heated recruiting battle with Kentucky and others
Louisville learned on Tuesday that they made Wabbington’s top six, as On3 Sports' Joe Tipton was one of the first to report that the 5-star is down to just six programs. However, one of the other five teams listed was the Cardinals' biggest rival and their in-state rival, the Kentucky Wildcats.
Louisville and Kentucky have been going head-to-head in many recruiting battles this past year, including multiple 5-star battles for Tyran Stokes, Taylen Kinney, and Milan Momcilovic. Now, the next big recruiting battle between these two rivals is for the 5-star center from Arizona.
Louisville has a slight edge over Kentucky right now, as the Cardinals learned, along with making Wabbington’s final six, they also learned they are earning an official visit later this year. Louisville was one of three teams to learn they are earning an official visit as of right now, as the Cardinals will host the 5-star first on September 11, and then following the Cardinals' visit, Wabbington will visit Arizona on September 25 and Texas on October 9.
Louisville is hoping that earning the first visit gives the Cardinals a huge advantage over not just Kentucky but the rest of the programs still involved. The other four teams outside of Louisville and Kentucky in Wabbington’s final six include Texas, Arizona, North Carolina, and Indiana.
Kentucky has already earned a 5-star commitment in the 2027 recruiting class, landing 5-star small forward Ryan Hampton. So, with Kentucky and Pope already on the board in the 2027 class with an elite recruit like Hampton, who ranks just above Wabbington as the No. 11 overall recruit, Kelsey and the Cardinals will look to answer Kentucky’s 5-star with landing a 5-star themselves.
Wabbington ranks as high as No. 13 overall and the No. 1 center in the 2027 cycle. The 6-foot-11, 245-pound center averaged 17.5 points, 9.5 rebounds, and 1.3 blocks per game this past season with Sunnyslope High and averaged 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 2.2 assists per game with Team USA in their silver medal run at the 2026 FIBA U18 Men's AmeriCup.
Also read: Louisville basketball gets huge update from 2027 5-star center Darius Wabbington
For all the latest on Louisville basketball's offseason and recruiting, stay tuned.
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