Louisville’s preseason stock keeps climbing, and the latest bump comes from CBS Sports.
In Gary Parrish’s updated way-too-early top 25, the Cardinals moved up one spot to No. 14 after St. John’s took a hit when Donnie Freeman was ruled out for the entire season with a torn achilles. That shuffle pushed Louisville higher in the mix, and the Cardinals now sit firmly inside the top 15.
Parrish’s explanation for Louisville’s spot centered on what the roster looks like now. He pointed to the return of one of the team’s top five scorers, Adrian Wooley, from a group that finished 24-11 and reached the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. He also highlighted the wave of additions around him: Kansas transfer Flory Bidunga, Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad, Arkansas transfer Karter Knox, Iowa transfer Alvaro Folgueiras, Dayton transfer De'Shayne Montgomery, USC transfer Gabe Dynes, former G League player London Johnson, five-star prospect Obinna Ekezie Jr., four-star prospect Boyuan Zhang and three-star prospect Isaac Ellis.
"This ranking is based on the Cardinals returning one of the top five scorers -- specifically Adrian Wooley -- from a team that finished 24-11 and advanced to the second round of the 2026 NCAA Tournament. That core will be joined by a recruiting class highlighted by Kansas transfer Flory Bidunga, Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad, Arkansas transfer Karter Knox, Iowa transfer Alvaro Folgueiras, Dayton transfer De'Shayne Montgomery, USC transfer Gabe Dynes, former G League player London Johnson, five-star prospect Obinna Ekezie Jr., four-star prospect Boyuan Zhang and three-star prospect Isaac Ellis."
Gary Parrish
That kind of roster overhaul has been the story of Louisville’s offseason. Pat Kelsey had to replace nine of his top 10 players from last season and all five starters, then went to work in the Transfer Portal. The Cardinals landed six transfers, including five-star Flory Bidunga and several four-star additions, and finished with the nation’s No. 1-ranked Transfer Portal class.
Louisville kept building from there in the 2026 recruiting class, adding five-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr. and elite four-star wing Boyuan Zhang.
The Cardinals are drawing plenty of attention beyond CBS, too. FanDuel lists Louisville with the sixth-highest odds to win the 2027 National Championship and the second-highest odds to win the ACC title.
Some outlets are still weighing the Cardinals against last season’s uneven results, but the talent influx under Kelsey has changed the conversation. For now, Louisville sits at No. 14, with a chance to keep rising before the season gets here.
Elsewhere in the CBS rankings, Duke checks in at No. 2, Virginia at No.
10, Kentucky at No. 16, Miami at No. 21 and North Carolina at No.
In Other News...
Louisvilles CFP Path May Hinge On One Defining Early Test
Louisville spent the offseason trying to build a roster sturdy enough to stay in the ACC race, and it did so without losing many of the key pieces that helped shape its outlook. The Cardinals also added more than 31 transfers, a sign that this is a team trying to be deeper, older and better equipped for the grind that comes with chasing a conference title and a College Football Playoff berth.
Josh Pate has already pointed to the Week 3 trip to SMU as one of the most important games on Louisvilles schedule, and it is easy to see why. Both programs are being talked about as ACC contenders, and the winner will leave that early-season meeting with a far clearer path through the league, especially with the rest of the schedule offering its own opportunities to separate from the pack. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Is Suddenly In A Much Bigger ACC Conversation
Jeff Brohm has Louisville in a place it has not occupied all that often entering a season: in the thick of the ACC race before a snap has been played. The Cardinals open with Ole Miss in Week 1, and the broader view around the program has shifted quickly thanks to a busy offseason that brought in Lincoln Kienholz at quarterback and a wave of transfer additions meant to accelerate the climb.
The betting market has noticed, too, with Louisville sitting near the top tier of the conference conversation behind Miami and SMU. The schedule helps fuel that optimism, since the Cardinals avoid Miami, Clemson and Virginia, and get SMU and Pitt at home, but the first few weeks could tell the real story. With SMU waiting in Week 3 and a roster still being sorted out after 32 transfers, Louisville is suddenly carrying the kind of expectations that make September feel a lot bigger. [Read more 🡒]