Year three of Pat Kelsey and Louisville basketball brings huge expectations after the Cardinals had one of the best incoming recruiting and transfer portal classes in the country.
The tradition continues! It’s another year of our countdown of the top 100 preseason teams in college basketball until the start of the season. Each day, we will reveal the next team until we reach the team slotted at number one. Up next: Louisville basketball.
It’s amazing to see how much Pat Kelsey has turned around a struggling Louisville basketball program in such a short time. The Kenny Payne era seems forever ago, as Kelsey has gone 51-19 in just two seasons. It’s the best two-year stretch since Rick Pitino was in town.
And Kelsey continues to build and hasn’t stopped. He hauled in an insane transfer portal class, headlined by former Kansas star big man Flory Bidunga. The 6-foot-9 center is a defensive monster and is enough of an offensive threat to keep teams honest. But Bidunga wasn’t it. Kelsey also picked up Oregon transfer Jackson Shelstad to run the point, graduate senior Seth Trimble from UNC, Iowa star Alvaro Folguerias, two-way Dayton transfer De’Shayne Montgomery, Arkansas sharpshooter Karter Knox, and mid-major do-it-all player LJ Wells. And if that wasn’t enough, the team also has 5-star 7-foot-2 beast Obinna Ekezie Jr.
And here’s the thing about the Cardinals team – they really check off every box.
You want point guard play? Shelstad, Trimble, and Montgomery are your guys. You need some three-point shooting? Knox, Shelstad and Adrian Wooley can ring the bell. Down low, forget about it – Bidunga, Ekezie, and 7-5 Gabe Dynes may rival Duke and Florida for the best trio of bigs in the country. And defensively, between the Cardinals’ big men and the on-ball pressure from Montgomery, Trimble, Shelstad, and Wells, there’s virtually nothing lacking about this Louisville squad.
Of course, there’s no such thing as a super team in college basketball, and plenty of other teams have outstanding lineups too. But pound for pound, Louisville basketball can go with anyone in the nation.
Head coach: Pat Kelsey (15th season overall, 3rd at Louisville)
2025-26 record: 24-11 (11-7)
2026 postseason finish: Lost to Michigan State (77-69) in second round of NCAA Tournament
Notable departures:
- EVERYONE but Adrian Wooley
Notable non-conference games:
- at Memphis (Nov. 15)
- vs. Texas Tech (Nov. 24) – Players Era
- vs. Oregon OR St. John’s (Nov. 26) – Players Era
- vs. TBD (Nov. 27) – Players Era
- vs. Texas (Dec. 1)
- vs. Michigan (Dec. 5) – Detroit, MI
- at Kentucky (Dec. 12)
- vs. Baylor (Jan. 23) – Indianapolis, IN
Projected Rotation
PG: Jackson Shelstad (6-1, 185, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.6 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 4.9 APG, 1.4 SPG, 39.1 FG%, 12 GP (Oregon)
*Suffered season-ending injury
SG: Seth Trimble (6-3, 200, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 14.0 PPG, 3.8 RPG, 3.0 APG, 1.3 SPG (North Carolina)
SF: Adrian Wooley (6-4, 205, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.7 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 1.8 APG, 35.0 3P%
PF: Alvaro Folgueiras (6-10, 230, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.4 PPG, 3.6 RPG, 2.2 APG, 50.0 FG% (Iowa)
C: Flory Bidunga (6-9, 235, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.3 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 1.5 APG, 2.6 BPG, 64.0 FG% (Kansas)
6: De’Shayne Montgomery (6-4, 200, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 13.4 PPG, 4.0 RPG, 2.1 APG, 2.1 SPG (Dayton)
7: Karter Knox (6-6, 220, Jr.)
2025-26 stats: 8.1 PPG, 4.5 RPG, 1.2 APG, 37.7 3P% (Arkansas)
8: Obinna Ekezie Jr. (7-2, 240, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 15 ranked recruit
9: LJ Wells (6-8, 220, Gr.-Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 15.0 PPG, 7.3 RPG, 2.1 APG, 1.3 SPG, 55.4 FG% (Northern Kentucky)
10: Gabe Dynes (7-5, 230, Sr.)
2025-26 stats: 2.9 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 0.4 APG, 1.0 BPG (USC)
11: Boyuan Zhang (6-9, 220, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 56 ranked recruit
12: Isaac Ellis (6-1, 185, Fr.)
247Sports Composite No. 251 ranked recruit
Louisville basketball team MVP: Flory Bidunga
Reports have indicated that Flory Bidunga is making roughly $6 million this season, and it’s well deserved. He’s arguably the best big man in college basketball and is by far the most dominant shot blocker in the game. Putting Bidunga inside the paint is virtually giving your team an 8-10 point advantage by tip-off.
But Bidunga isn’t a one-trick pony. He runs the floor well at his size and is a textbook definition of what it means to be a big man and go up strong. He’s not going to burn teams from three, and he doesn’t need to. If you could pick one guy to get a strong bucket inside, Bidunga’s the easy first choice.
Louisville basketball make-or-break player: Jackson Shelstad
Louisville basketball should be great no matter what and made sure to have depth at the guard position. That’s key, because Shelstad had a hand injury last season, played through it for a while, and then decided to pack it in. It clearly affected his shot, as he was under 40% from the field in a dozen games.
If the hand is fully healed and Shelstad has no issue with his shooting, it brings Louisville to the top tier in college basketball. At his best, Shelstad is a gamer – someone who will buy you a bucket no matter who the opposing team is. He’s an exciting guard who has the potential to make people remember how gifted he was before the injury.
With a healthy, locked-in Jackson Shelstad, I’d have no problem saying Louisville is a top five team in the nation.
Key statistic: Steals per game and transition offense
If there’s one thing we could see Louisville basketball improve drastically this season, it’s getting turnovers. They were about middle of the road in college hoops last season at just under seven takeaways per game. But with a dominant inside presence and a ball hawk off the bench in Montgomery, there’s no reason why Louisville can’t be a top 25 team in that category this season.
And I’ll take it a step further – expect the Cardinals to be one of the best teams in the nation on the fastbreak. They’ve got everything you need – shot-blocking, defensive-minded guards, and guards who come in with experience. That’s the perfect recipe to win in transition offense.
Louisville basketball 2026-27 projections
Projected conference finish: 3rd in the ACC
Projected postseason ceiling: NCAA Tournament Final Four appearance