Louisville’s pursuit of five-star point guard Reese Alston is starting to look like one of the biggest recruiting swings of Pat Kelsey’s run, and Fox Sports insider Aaron Torres just poured gasoline on the buzz.
Torres said he believes the Cardinals will eventually land Alston, a top-10 prospect in the 2027 class, after Kelsey made another personal visit to the elite guard following Alston’s official trip to LSU.
“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."
"Pat Kelsey opened the recruiting period visiting five-star guard Reese Alston - just like they opened the summer seeing him.
I know he's taken other visits. But Louisville DEFINITELY feels like the team to beat for this kid."
- Via @Aaron_Torres
📺 https://t.co/5zQ7rkbMh7 pic.twitter.com/BBpxJfWRGT
- TorresOnLouisville (@TorresOnUL) September 11, 2026
That kind of confidence is exactly what Louisville fans were hoping to hear, especially with the Cardinals locked in a tight battle for Alston’s commitment. The 5-star point guard has trimmed his list to seven schools: Louisville, Kentucky, Tennessee, Houston, Vanderbilt, LSU, and Wichita State. Over the summer, the race mostly centered on LSU, Louisville, and Wichita State, but Kentucky and Tennessee jumped in later and widened the field.
Louisville has already hosted Alston on an official visit, and Kelsey’s approach has been relentless. He spent the summer making trips to see Alston and watch him play, and then followed up by traveling to him again after the LSU visit. That steady attention has kept Louisville squarely in the mix.
On3 Sports’ Jamie Shaw had recently lowered his confidence level on Louisville’s chances after the LSU visit, but Torres’ read was the opposite. He called Louisville the team to beat, which is a strong signal for a recruitment that still has plenty of runway left.
It’s not finished yet, though. Kelsey still has to keep pushing until Alston makes it official, and the Cardinals will be waiting to see whether that early momentum turns into a commitment. Alston is ranked as high as No. 7 overall and No. 2 among point guards.
In Other News...
Louisville Fans Have Every Right To Be Annoyed By ESPNs Choice
Louisville got the season moving in the right direction with its first win over Villanova, and now the focus shifts to a Week 3 meeting with No. 17 SMU that already feels like a meaningful early-season barometer. The Cardinals are favored by 1.5 points, which says plenty about how tight this matchup could be, and about how much it matters for a team trying to build momentum in conference play.
The frustration for Louisville fans comes from where the game landed on the TV schedule. ESPN will carry No. 10 Texas A&M vs. Kentucky on its main channel, while Louisville-SMU is slated for ESPN2, a placement that will not sit well with a fan base seeing a ranked opponent and a game with real ACC significance pushed a step down the network ladder. For a program trying to turn a good start into something bigger, it is the kind of decision that can feel like a slight even before the opening kickoff. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Still Has One Big Problem With SMU Up Next
Louisville left Villanova with a lopsided 59-13 win and a few encouraging signs, especially at quarterback and in the backfield. Lincoln Keinholz has already put his name in the school record book by topping 300 passing yards over his first two games, and freshman Marquise Davis along with sophomore Braxton Jennings each found the end zone multiple times in the latest rout.
Still, the Cardinals know the performance was not clean enough to carry into next weekend, when Southern Methodist arrives for the Atlantic Coast Conference opener. Louisville opened slowly and added more penalties than it could afford, the kind of slippage that tends to matter more once league play begins and the margin for error shrinks. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville's Offense Has A Clear Identity Entering ACC Play
Through the first two games, Jeff Brohms Louisville offense has made its identity pretty clear: create chunk plays and keep the pressure on defenses at every level. The Cardinals have leaned on a balanced mix of explosive passes and runs, with quarterback Lincoln Kienholz spreading the ball around to multiple playmakers while the offense piles up yardage at a fast clip.
That approach has already put Louisville near the top of the national numbers for longer gains, and it gives the Cardinals a defined path as ACC play begins. The encouraging part for Brohm is not just the volume of those explosive snaps, but the way different weapons have shown up in them, giving this offense a feel that could travel well once league opponents start loading up to take away the easy stuff. [Read more 🡒]