Louisville fans had a reason to smile Tuesday, even if it had nothing to do with their own roster addition. Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler, one of the most sought-after bigs in the portal, ended up at BYU, shutting down a chase that also included Kentucky, Kansas and Louisville.
Kohler had been on the Cardinals’ radar, at least briefly, after Jon Rothstein reported Louisville among the schools in the mix. Rothstein said, “Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler tells me that he’s considering the following schools and will have other conversations later today,” before listing Louisville, BYU, Kansas, and Kentucky.
In the end, though, BYU won out. Joe Tipton reported the commitment on August 21, 2026, noting that “Michigan State transfer Jaxon Kohler, the top available big man in the portal, has committed to BYU, source tells @On3.”
The 6-foot-9 senior brings real production with him. Kohler averaged 12.5 points and 8.9 rebounds per game this season, and Tipton also noted that he played NBA Summer League with the Utah Jazz.
For Louisville, this was always more of a long shot than a serious swing. The Cardinals had already landed North Carolina transfer Seth Trimble earlier this month under the “five-for-five” rule, and that commitment helped shape the rest of their portal approach. On3 Sports’ Joe Tipton later reported that Louisville was “likely not pursuing” Kohler after the Trimble pickup.
That makes sense given the state of Louisville’s roster build. The Cardinals already own the No. 1 overall Transfer Portal class in the country, with seven additions total, including two players ranked inside the top 20, a 5-star, the No. 1 overall transfer in Flory Bidunga, and a 4-star in Jackson Shelstad, who ranks No. 18 overall.
Kohler still would have fit plenty of needs. The 6-foot-8, 250-pound power forward rebounds with force, and he can stretch the floor too.
He finished the season shooting 50 percent from the field and 38.9 percent from deep, knocking down 58 threes along the way. But with Louisville already carrying one of the most expensive rosters in the nation, the chase was never likely to get serious.
So the Cardinals missed on the player, but their fans still got a little consolation prize: another Kentucky miss.
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