Louisville’s pursuit of Cayden Daughtry just got a lot more interesting.
The 5-star point guard has been one of the hottest names in the 2027 recruiting class all summer, and 247Sports backed that up with a major bump in its updated rankings. Daughtry, who had been sitting at No. 9 overall and No. 3 among point guards, climbed all the way to No. 3 nationally and is now ranked as the No. 2 point guard in the cycle.
That rise came on the heels of a monster summer run with the Florida Rebels at Nike’s Peach Jam event, where Daughtry turned heads in a big way. He averaged a record-breaking 34.8 points in five pool-play games and finished with 258 points across six days. In eight games overall, he added 49 assists, 34 rebounds and 23 steals.
The performance was strong enough that he won the event’s MVP award before the finals were even played. Daughtry averaged 32.3 points per game while shooting 63 percent from inside the arc and 49 percent from beyond the arc.
Louisville is among the programs trying to get in the mix for the star guard. Pat Kelsey has been active on the recruiting trail this summer, making trips to Virginia, Texas and other states to see top 2027 prospects in person. Daughtry has emerged as one of the Cardinals’ biggest targets in the class.
The list of schools involved is already long. Kentucky, UConn, Miami, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Florida State, Virginia, BYU and others are all mentioned among the programs in the hunt.
On3 Sports reported last week that Louisville and Tennessee were the two teams Daughtry was hearing from most. With his stock now even higher, the Cardinals will likely keep pushing hard to get him on campus.
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Louisville Is Pushing Hard For A Five-Star Guard It Must Land
King Gibsons recruitment is starting to take shape, and Louisville is right in the middle of it. The highly ranked 2027 combo guard from SPIRE Academy said the Cardinals are among the schools drawing the strongest interest alongside Baylor, LSU, UConn and Arkansas, and he has not yet taken any official visits. Those trips are expected to come in the fall, with his parents helping arrange them, which gives Louisville a real chance to make a deeper impression when the process moves from conversation to campus time.
For the Cardinals, the appeal is obvious: Gibson is the kind of guard talent that can change the trajectory of a class, and he is still early enough in the process to be shaped by fit, relationships and vision. His recruitment is still open-ended, but Louisville has stayed in the mix through steady contact, and the next stage of the chase figures to matter. Once Gibson starts lining up visits, the Cards should be one of the programs under the brightest spotlight. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Is Already In The Mix For An Elite Young Big
Bentley Lusakueno is already on Louisvilles radar, and for a program that consistently has to think ahead on the recruiting trail, that matters. The 2028 five-star center has been in early conversations with the Cardinals, including with assistant coach Sean Dixon, as the staff starts to get a feel for one of the most intriguing young bigs in the country.
Lusakueno is still focused on improving his game and hasnt locked in any visits yet, though he expects to start making them in the fall. He is also open to reclassifying to 2027 if the right opportunity presents itself, which only adds another layer to a recruitment that could move quickly once schools decide how aggressively they want to push. [Read more 🡒]