Louisville’s push for 5-star point guard Reese Alston keeps picking up steam, and the Cardinals appear to be right in the thick of it as the 2027 recruiting cycle heats up.
Pat Kelsey has made Alston a clear priority, and that effort is showing up in the way the race is being framed by national recruiting voices. On3 Sports’ Jamie Shaw continues to point to Louisville as the slight favorite, and Fox Sports insider Aaron Torres has gone even further in calling the Cardinals the team to beat.
“I continue to hear from sources that Louisville currently carries some momentum.”
“I think Louisville is going to get this guy eventually; I really do,” stated Torres. “Pat Kelsey opened the recruiting period visiting five-star guard Reese Alston - just like they opened the summer seeing him."
Louisville’s pursuit has been active for a while now. Kelsey visited Alston after the guard’s trip to LSU, then made several more stops this summer to see him in person, including trips to Texas and Richmond, Va. for the Puma NXTPro 16 event.
Alston’s visit schedule has been busy, too. He recently went to Purdue and LSU, has Tennessee on deck this weekend, and is set to visit Kentucky on October 13. Louisville has already secured an official visit from him, and only three other schools have done the same.
The Cardinals also made Alston’s final seven, joining Kentucky, LSU, Tennessee, Wichita State, Houston, and Vanderbilt in the hunt.
Ranked as high as No. 7 overall and No. 2 among point guards, Alston is coming off a huge junior season. He averaged 22.22 points, 5.3 assists, 3.9 rebounds, and 2.7 steals per game while earning MaxPreps Junior All-American First Team honors.
For Louisville, this is the kind of guard who can change the shape of a recruiting class. And right now, the Cardinals look like one of the real leaders in the chase.
In Other News...
Wake Forest Faces A Brutal Road Test For Gio Lopez
Louisville and Wake Forest arrive at this ACC matchup with similar early-season rsums and plenty to sort out before the league race settles in. The Cardinals are 2-1 and have leaned on a productive rushing attack while playing clean football, and the Demon Deacons are also 2-1 after showing they can hang around in competitive games. Both staffs have already spent the week talking up the challenges ahead, which is usually a sign the opener to conference play is going to demand a little more than just basic September execution.
For Wake Forest, the bigger concern is keeping Gio Lopez upright against a Louisville front that has been steady and disruptive without giving the ball away. The Cardinals have yet to put themselves in obvious trouble with turnovers, and that kind of discipline can make life uncomfortable for an offense still trying to settle in around its quarterback. How Wake Forest handles pressure will go a long way toward determining whether this turns into a manageable road test or a long afternoon. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Enters Week 4 With ACC Momentum And One Backfield Debate
Louisville heads into Week 4 with a little more confidence after opening ACC play by beating SMU, and the next stop brings Wake Forest into the picture. The Demon Deacons are coming off a conference loss to Miami, while the Cardinals are trying to build on a win that gave their early season a cleaner look on both sides of the ball. For a team trying to establish itself in league play, this is the kind of game that can help set the tone before the schedule gets any tougher.
The more interesting subplot inside Louisvilles own locker room is in the backfield, where the carries have not told the whole story. Isaac Brown remains the more familiar name, but Keyjuan Brown has been making his case with efficiency and production that have started to sharpen the discussion around how the Cardinals should divide their workload. With Louisville carrying momentum and the matchup tilting in its favor, the only real question is how much the ground game can keep opening doors before the conference race tightens up. [Read more 🡒]
Louisvilles Fast Start Is Raising A Much Bigger Question
Louisvilles early-season picture has been a mix of promise and unfinished business, with the Cardinals showing enough offensive balance to keep piling up points while still leaving room for concern on the other side of the ball. Multiple running backs helped drive the attack, quarterback Kienholz added his own key moments, and the teams 2-1 start has already included a close loss to a top-ranked opponent, a reminder that the margin for error is thin even when the offense is humming.
The bigger question now is whether those fast starts can hold up once the pressure rises and the schedule keeps tightening, beginning with Wake Forest. Louisville has already lived through a game in which it gave up too much on the ground but still found ways to survive, so the next step is less about flash and more about consistency. If the Cardinals are going to turn this start into something bigger, they will need the same offensive variety and a defense that can keep making the right stops when it matters most. [Read more 🡒]