Louisville has moved into a strong position with 5-star point guard Reese Alston, but the recruiting race is still wide open enough for Kentucky to make this one uncomfortable.
Alston recently trimmed his list to seven schools, with Louisville joined by LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee, Wichita State, Houston and Vanderbilt. According to On3 Sports’ Joe Tipton, several sources are calling the Cardinals the favorite, though he stressed that the chase is nowhere near finished.
The 5-star guard has picked up more than 36 offers during his recruitment, and the most aggressive pursuit appears to be coming from Louisville, LSU, Kentucky, Tennessee and Wichita State. Among that group, only Wichita State and Louisville have hosted him on official visits. LSU has been in the mix as long as Louisville, while Tennessee is a newer arrival in the race.
Tipton pointed to Kentucky as the biggest danger to Louisville’s chances, and that instantly turns this into more than a standard recruiting battle. It’s Louisville and Kentucky again, with Mark Pope’s Wildcats trying to pry away a target the Cardinals have chased all offseason.
“Kentucky appears to be the main challenger to the ’Cards,” stated Tipton. Alston has taken early official visits to Louisville and Wichita State, and he’s also been on campus at Kentucky for an unofficial visit.
He’s expected to line up additional official visits in the coming weeks. However, the longer this recruitment draws out, the more opportunity there is for other programs to begin gaining momentum.”
That familiar rivalry has already played out on the recruiting trail. Louisville and Kentucky recently fought over 5-star transfer Milan Momcilovic, who ended up signing with the Wildcats. The two programs also went head-to-head for 5-star point guard Taylen Kinney, and there are rumors that a verbal altercation took place between Kelsey and Pope.
Now the same two coaches are back in the same fight for another elite point guard. Alston is ranked as high as No. 7 overall and No. 2 among point guards, and Louisville has made him a priority all offseason.
For now, Kelsey and the Cardinals are sitting in front. The question is whether they can stay there long enough to finish the job.
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