Louisville’s offseason has already taken a sharp turn on both sides of the ball, and the biggest swing so far may be the one Pat Kelsey landed in the portal. The Cardinals brought in nine commitments overall, with six coming from the Transfer Portal and three from the 2026 recruiting class, but the headliner was Flory Bidunga - the 5-star transfer and No. 1 overall player in the portal.
That addition has already started to draw strong praise from inside the program. Jackson Shelstad, another former 5-star pickup, was asked about Bidunga’s defensive impact and didn’t hesitate to go big with his response: "We have the best rim protector in the country."
For a Louisville team that has needed help protecting the basket over the past two seasons, that kind of confidence stands out. Bidunga backed it up with production, averaging 2.6 blocks per game last season and finishing with 91 blocks while winning Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year.
On the football side, Louisville took a hit last week when its top commitment in the 2027 class, Allen Evans, backed off his pledge and flipped to Vanderbilt. Evans, a 4-star cornerback from Trinity High School in Louisville, had been the Cardinals’ sixth-highest-rated commitment in program history before the switch sent him to the SEC.
Evans had climbed as high as No. 76 overall in the 2027 cycle and was ranked No. 9 among cornerbacks. He also came in as the second-best recruit in Kentucky.
His reputation is built on tight coverage, and this past season he didn’t give up a touchdown while earning All-American Second-Team honors. Louisville now sits at 16 commitments after the change.
With Evans gone, the Cardinals are already pushing for another cornerback target. Louisville is in the mix for 4-star defensive back Monsanna Torbert Jr., a former Indiana commit who has become a three-team recruiting battle between the Cardinals, Michigan and Ohio State.
At the moment, Michigan appears to have the edge. On3’s Allen Trieu and Ethan McDowell have both projected the Wolverines to land Torbert after his visit, and both Michigan and Ohio State have already hosted him.
Louisville is still working to make a late move, but it has ground to make up before Torbert announces his decision on July 1. Torbert is rated as high as No. 10 among cornerbacks and No. 70 overall in the class.
In Other News...
Pat Kelsey Is Finally Addressing Louisvilles Biggest Problem
Pat Kelsey spent his first season trying to win with pace, space and shot-making, but the next phase of Louisville basketball looks a lot different. After running into the kind of resistance that comes with higher-level competition, the Cardinals have started leaning harder into defense, length, rim protection and post play, a noticeable shift for a coach whose system once tilted heavily toward guards and 3-pointers.
That adjustment has shown up everywhere this offseason. Louisville added several defense-first transfers, brought in a five-star center prospect earlier than expected by reclassifying him into this summers group, and filled out the staff with assistants who have built their reputations on the defensive end. The idea is clear enough even if the full payoff is still to come: Kelsey is trying to make sure the Cardinals are harder to score on, especially when the games get bigger and the front line matters most. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Has A Growing Fall Concern Up Front
Anwar ONeal arrived at Louisville with the kind of background that usually settles a spot up front pretty quickly. The senior offensive lineman transferred in from Delaware and was expected to factor into the left tackle competition after logging more than 900 snaps a year ago, most of them on the edge, a workload that also showed why the Cardinals viewed him as a ready-made piece for the line.
Instead, a spring injury has shifted the conversation from how he fits to when he can get back on the field. ONeal is using the summer to recover, and Louisville now has to plan for fall with one of its more experienced line options in limbo, a complication that lands at exactly the wrong time for an offense trying to sort out its protection up front. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Veteran Sends Strong Message About Rebuilt Offensive Line
Lance Robinson is stepping into a bigger voice along Louisvilles offensive line this fall, and it comes at a time when the group looks nothing like the one he first joined. Now entering his fourth season, Robinson is helping anchor a rebuilt front that has been reshaped by new coaching and transfer arrivals, giving the Cardinals a different kind of feel up front as they prepare for the 2026 season.
Robinson has been especially upbeat about the work being done by new line coach Dale Williams and the way the newcomers have fit in, saying the group has a chance to become something meaningful quickly. Louisvilles confidence is being sharpened by what it believes it can become in a pivotal year, and the early test everyone keeps circling is the opening game against Ole Miss in Nashville, where the Cardinals will find out a lot about how ready this overhaul really is. [Read more 🡒]