Louisville’s offseason overhaul is drawing plenty of attention, and Pat Kelsey’s new-look roster is starting to get treated like one of the best in the country.
That buzz has only grown as fall approaches and Cardinals fans inch closer to seeing the team in real action. Louisville did play an exhibition game in the Bahamas, but it wasn’t televised, so the fan base still hasn’t gotten a true first look at the squad Kelsey built.
This summer was all about change. Louisville leaned hard into the Transfer Portal, bringing in eight transfers as part of an 11-player offseason haul that also included multiple 5- and 4-star additions. The Cardinals were one of the strongest portal teams in the country, and the hope inside the program is obvious: this is the roster that can finally end the Final Four drought.
Fox Sports analyst Casey Jacobsen added to the momentum with his preseason top 25, and he placed Louisville at No. 8.
That kind of respect is a step above where many outlets have the Cardinals, with most ranking them somewhere inside the top 15. But when you look at the pieces Kelsey has assembled, the case for a top-10 team starts to make sense. Louisville’s biggest issue under Kelsey last year was physicality and the frontcourt, and both were clearly priorities this offseason.
The biggest fix came in the paint. Kelsey brought in two 5-stars, Flory Bidunga and Obinna Ekezie Jr., to give Louisville the rim protection and interior presence it lacked. Bidunga averaged 2.6 blocks per game at Kansas, while Ekezie averaged 1.8 blocks per game during his junior season last year.
The frontcourt didn’t stop there. Louisville also added 4-star transfer Karter Knox, a former 5-star who could develop into one of Kelsey’s best defenders.
The backcourt got a major reset as well. Jackson Shelstad arrived as a former 5-star and the No. 18 overall transfer, stepping in after Mikel Brown Jr.
Shelstad was on track for his best season at Oregon before getting hurt and finished with averages of 15.6 points, 4.9 assists, and 2.9 rebounds per game. He’ll be joined in the backcourt by UNC transfer Seth Trimble, hopefully, along with Kelsey’s biggest return, former 5-star Adrian Wooley.
Depth is another reason this group is getting top-10 talk. Louisville added 4-star transfer Alvaro Folgueiras, a stretch forward who should help open the floor for Bidunga and the offense.
The Cardinals also brought in 4-star transfer De'Shayne Montgomery, who may be Kelsey’s biggest sleeper pickup. At 6-foot-4, Montgomery brings two-way value, the kind of lockdown defense coaches love, and he showed enough pop on offense in the Bahamas to turn heads when he led the team with 20 points on 5-of-8 shooting.
There are more weapons beyond that. Four-star freshman Boyuan Zhang could become the team’s best long-range threat, and 7-foot-5 Gabe Dynes adds yet another layer of size.
Put it all together, and Louisville looks deep, skilled, and much more balanced than it did a year ago. The Cardinals didn’t meet expectations last season, but this group feels different, and the belief around the program is that this could be the Louisville team that gets back to the Final Four for the first time since 2013.
In Other News...
Louisvilles Turnaround Gives Jeff Brohm Fans A Reason To Believe
Louisville spent the second half looking like a different team, and that was the encouraging part of a game that began with plenty of uneven moments. After a slow start, the Cardinals settled in on both sides of the ball, with the offense finding more rhythm and the running game becoming a real factor as multiple players reached the end zone.
Jeff Brohms decision to hand playcalling duties to the offensive coordinator added a new wrinkle to how Louisville operated, and the results were hard to miss once the game turned. The defense also answered after a critical stop, tightening up enough to keep the opponent from moving the ball the way it had early and giving the Cardinals a stretch of control they could build on. [Read more 🡒]
Louisville Fans Can Grab A New Way To Get Ready For Tipoff
University of Louisville fans looking for a little extra game-day flair can now pick up the Cardinals 2026-27 mens basketball schedule poster for free at more than 40 Kroger locations in Louisville and Southern Indiana, while supplies last. The posters are also being handed out at home games, giving supporters another easy way to get ready for the season before the first tip.
There is plenty to circle on the calendar already, starting with an exhibition game at Kansas on Oct. 21 and a home exhibition against Mercyhurst on Oct. 28. Louisville then opens the official season against Chattanooga on Nov. 2, giving fans a quick preview of what the new year could look like before the real schedule gets rolling. [Read more 🡒]
Karter Knox Is Already Fueling Louisvilles Kentucky Confidence
Louisvilles roster overhaul has already given Pat Kelsey plenty to sort through as he gets ready for the 2026-27 season, and the first real checkpoint comes Oct. 21 with an exhibition against Kansas. The Cardinals have brought in eight transfers, including a few names that should help raise the ceiling right away, with Flory Bidunga, Jackson Shelstad and Karter Knox standing out among the additions.
Knox, in particular, has added an edge to the conversation around the rivalry with Kentucky. With his brother Kevin Knox II having played for the Wildcats, he has already signaled plenty of confidence that Louisville can change its recent fortunes in the series and snap an eight-game road losing streak, a familiar burden that still hangs over the matchup. For a team trying to establish a new identity under Kelsey, that kind of early belief matters almost as much as the talent itself. [Read more 🡒]