Louisville Leaves Strong Impression on Elite 2027 Prospect CJ Rosser
CJ Rosser, one of the most coveted prospects in the 2027 class, made a weekend stop in Louisville - and it sounds like the Cardinals made the most of the opportunity.
The 6-foot-10 forward from Southeastern Prep in Orlando was on hand for Louisville’s 88-74 win over SMU at the KFC Yum! Center on Saturday.
The atmosphere? Electric.
And Rosser took notice.
“It went real good,” Rosser said after the visit. “I enjoyed the game and really liked the atmosphere.
I loved it when it got loud in there, and they played better when the crowd was loud. It showed they are really behind the team, and it helps.”
For a player of Rosser’s caliber - long, athletic, and versatile - it’s not just about wins and losses. It’s about fit, energy, and vision. And Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey and his staff seemed to check a lot of those boxes.
“It’s really just a good staff, and I love how they play,” Rosser said. “They play fast and with a lot of energy.
Coach (Kelsey) is very energetic, and I like that a lot. It was good to see them.
I like the energy a lot.”
That energy is part of what makes Kelsey’s system so appealing to a modern big like Rosser. At 6-foot-10 and 195 pounds, he’s not your traditional post-up forward.
He’s a floor-spacer with a smooth shooting touch, capable of stepping out to the three-point line and knocking it down. That kind of versatility is gold in today’s game - and it’s why Rosser is already being mentioned in conversations about the top overall spot in his class.
According to 247Sports national analyst Travis Branham, Rosser is “a tremendous talent with great size, long arms, is a budding athlete, and is a unique floor-stretcher at his size and athleticism, able to drill shots off the catch and pull out to three.”
That blend of size, length, and shooting ability has earned Rosser 17 scholarship offers so far. He currently holds the No. 1 spot in the 247Sports Composite Rankings for the 2027 class and sits at No. 2 in the site's individual rankings.
Louisville isn’t the only major program making a push. Rosser’s visit to the Cardinals comes after a November trip to North Carolina, and he’s set to be at Kentucky this week for their matchup with Oklahoma. He’s also been on campus at Duke and Florida State - all blue-blood programs vying for a player who could be a franchise-changer at the college level.
Rosser’s rise has been steady and impressive. Last summer, he made his presence felt on the Nike EYBL Circuit, averaging 19 points per game while shooting 48.6 percent from the field - strong numbers that backed up the hype and showed he can produce against elite competition.
For now, Rosser is still in the early stages of his recruitment, but Louisville clearly made a strong impression. The blend of a passionate fanbase, an up-tempo system, and a coaching staff full of energy could give the Cardinals a real shot in what’s shaping up to be one of the most competitive recruitments in recent memory.