Louisville basketball enters year two of the Pat Kelsey Era looking to seize momentum with a competitive NIL budget in its arsenal. A comprehensive list of players the Cards have spoken with.
Already, there have been more than 2000 D-1 players put their name into the portal, with even more names expected to slowly trickle in.
Unlike last season, the Cards come into 2025 with a solid foundation of players expected to return. This list can change, but here are the players I expect to nearly be guaranteed to be on next year’s roster:
- Kobe Rodgers – G
- Mikel Brown Jr. – G
- Isaac McKneely – G
- Adrian Wooley – G
- Ryan Conwell – G
- Khani Rooths – F
- Aly Khalifa – C
- James Scott – C
- Sananda ‘Sunny’ Fru – C
- J’Vonne Hadley – F (Announced intention to return to Louisville basketball on April 8th)
Here are the players with eligibility remaining that are NOT returning:
- Koren Johnson – G
And here are the players I am unsure of their intentions:
- Nate Ament – F
- Kasean Pryor – F/C
A new bill was recently signed into action that is expected to allow NCAA men’s basketball teams to have 15 scholarship players, two more than the 13 currently allotted. So, though this won’t be like last year where we saw Coach Kelsey needing to fill out an entire roster, it looks likely that the Cards will be in on somewhere between 5-8 transfer portal players.
Now that we’ve got the framework of the roster sorted out, let’s take a look at who the Cards have reached out to, so far.
Another reminder from last year, this list is HUGE, and we will miss/move on from 90+% of these players. So don’t worry when guys choose other schools. There’s 1900+ guys to choose from.
Committed to Louisville basketball
Adrian Wooley – G, Kennesaw State (6-5, 180 Lbs.)
The Cards made the biggest splash possible to begin transfer portal season by landing one of just three 5-star rated transfers in the portals (Via 24/7 Sports).
This time last year, Adrian Wooley was just your run of the mill 3-star recruit, ranking 308th in the Class of 2024 and only holding offers from teams like Arkansas State, Florida Gulf Coast, and George Mason. Fast forward 365 days later and he’s now a top five player in the transfer portal.
The 6-5 combo guard was almost immediately the Owls best player. The freshman started 32/33 games for Kennesaw State and led them in points, steals, assists, and three point shooting. Wooley put up 18.8 PPG, 5.2 RPG, 3.6 APG, and 1.4 SPG. That was good enough to not only land him Conference USA (C-USA) Rookie of the Year but also on the C-USA First Team, as a true freshman.
This kid has so much to his game. It makes you wonder how he ended up as a player ranked outside of the top-300 in his class. Wooley truly can score at all three levels, and he does so very efficiently. Exactly half of his shots come at the rim, where he shoots 60%. He’s also a shooter, as well. He ranks in the top 7% of all college basketball players as a spot-up shooter, and he’s in the top 25% as an off the dribble jump shooter.
Ability to attack the rim? Check… Ability to score in the mid-range? Check… Ability to knock down three point shots? Check. And all of this comes in a 6-5 frame.
After watching Wooley’s tape, he’s by far the best player Louisville has reached out to. It’s amazing that Louisville basketball got his first visit and was able to get this Tuscaloosa native away from Alabama and Auburn.
Wooley will slide in perfectly at the two guard next to Mikel Brown. Heck, I think he could even play the three if we ended up landing Isaac Mckneely, as well. He’s got an excellent ability to get into the paint where he can hit contested jumpers, well-defended layups, or find the open man. If there is one knock to Wooley’s game, it’s that he turned the ball over more than three times a game, but I think that’s understandable when you’re the go-to-guy at Kennesaw State as a true freshman.
Pat Kelsey could not have gotten Louisville’s transfer portal class off with a bigger bang. I expect this Wooley commitment to create a bit of snowball effect where other top ranked transfers want to join him at Louisville.
Ryan Conwell – G, Xavier (6-4, 195 Lbs.)
You know what’s better than having one Top-20 transfer portal commit? Two.
The Indiana Native has had quite the college basketball journey in his first three seasons. He began his career a lower ranked three star recruit with offers from schools like Evansville, Ball State, and Eastern Illinois. Eventually, he committed to the University of South Florida, where he actually had a pretty solid freshman season. Brian Gregory was fired as USF’s head coach after Conwell’s freshman season.
After one season as a Bull, Conwell hit the portal and decided to transfer to Indiana State and play under Josh Schertz. With the Sycamores, Conwell was their second best player, only behind Cream Abdul-Jabar (Robbie Avila). Conwell put up 16.6 PPG, 5.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG, while shooting 41% from three on 7.1 3PAs P/G. Even after a really strong season at Indiana State, Conwell decided to transfer again, after head coach Josh Schertz took a job at Saint Louis.
Conwell decided to transfer up to Xavier after a successful sophomore season in the Metro Valley Conference. Some wondered if his game would translate to a higher level of competition, and it certainly did. Conwell averaged a near identic stat line while at Xavier: 16.5 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.5 APG, while shooting 41% from three on more than 7.1 3PAs P/G. Nearly everything translated the same with the step up in competition.
After receiving a spot on the All-Big East Third Team, and seeing his head coach take the Texas job, Conwell is in the portal again, for the third time in three seasons. I do want to say I oftentimes get concerned whenever I see guys looking for their fourth school in four years, but Conwell is understandable. Conway has lost his head coach in every offseason, so it’s no wonder why he’s changed schools so many times. What hasn’t changed, regardless of school, is Conwell skill and production.
There are two things that stick out to me when watching Conwell. Firstly, he’s got a great jump shot, off the catch and off the dribble. The southpaw is one of only 16 players in all of college basketball to make 99+ threes last season. Conwell is also a top 2% shooter off of the catch and shoot. Secondly, he’s really strong for a player of his size. This can be seen by his 55% field goal percentage when shooting at the rim. Conwell does a great job of getting contact in the paint (3.9 FT’s P/G) for a guy that is primarily known as a three point shooter.
The last thing that stuck out to me was Conwell’s ability to be a facilitator as an off-guard. The lefty has averaged exactly 2.5 APG in back-to-back seasons. He isn’t someone I would consider an elite playmaking guard, but creating for teammates is something he can bring to the table.
I do feel like his game, and the role he’d fit in at Louisville, is a little redundant to that of Isaac McKneely’s. Both great off the catch and shoot, but I think Conwell is better at getting to the basket; while McKneely is better at creating and hitting contested jump shots. I could be wrong, and I hope I am, but I don’t see us landing both Conwell and McKneely.
Isaac McKneely – G, Virginia (6-4, 190 Lbs.)
McKneely finshes off a trio of transfer portal guards that Pat Kelsey landed early in the portal. Cards fans should easily be able to picture McKneely filling the Reyne Smith role.
Isaac McKneely, a 6-4 combo guard, has spent the last three seasons at Virginia, going from a serviceable guard off the bench in his freshman year, to their primary ball handler, facilitator, and scorer this past season.
This year, with more of the offense running through him, McKneely not only set career records for points, steals, and assists per game, but he was also a more efficient player.
McKneely put up a career best 14.4 PPG, 2.7 RPG, and 2.9 APG, while shooting 44% from the field and 42% from the three point line (ON 7.5 THREE POINT ATTEMPTS PER GAME). That’s some Reyne Smith level of shooting right there, and that’s exactly who McKneely would be coming into replace.
McKneely’s ability to run off screens and knock down threes, when he has any separation makes, him a perfect fit for Pat Kelsey’s offense, and with Reyne Smith injured over the last few games of the season, we saw how important that knockdown shooter is to a PK offensive system.
Beyond the shooting ability, McKneely may actually provide even more than Reyne did last season. Mckneely, standing at 6-4, provides more of the prototypical height of a two-guard, which should allow him to better matchup on the defensive end.
Mckneely is also a good facilitator, averaging just under three assists per game last season for a Virginia team that played very slow and struggled to score the ball. Mckneely also nearly averaged a 2-to-1 assist to TO ratio.
I think Mckneely’s ability to shoot is the clear reason why the Cards are interested in bringing him in, but I think his ability to be a secondary playmaker could be just as important. The Cards have Mikel Brown Jr., a top-ten freshman in the nation, slated to be their starting PG, but requiring all of the offense to run through an 18-year-old seems like a bad idea. With McKneely on the floor, Mikel wouldn’t have to bear all of the offense on his shoulders.
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On the radar for Louisville basketball
Rakease Passmore – G, Kansas (6-5, 185 Lbs.)
From Top-50 recruit in the class of 2024 to a guy with some of the worst numbers I’ve ever seen, Rakease Passmore struggled a ton in his only year at Kansas but still has a decent amount of potential.
Passmore came to Kansas last year with tons of hype. Passmore was a consensus top 50 recruit, ranked as high as 34th in the class by ESPN, and he had tape that POPPED. With his frame and his athleticism, it’s no surprise that Kansas fans were extremely excited to have him in Lawrence.
Unfortunately, the hype and athleticism did not translate to any success in year one. Passmore appeared in just 20 games this season, and he never played more than 11 minutes in any game. Like I said, his stats are some of the worst I’ve seen from a high level player: 0.7 PPG, 0.6 RPG, 0.3 APG, while shooting 28.6% from the field, 22.2% from three, and 42.9% from the free throw line. He also has a 2/1 TO-to-Assist ratio, which is the opposite of what you want.
I know some players numbers can be skewed when they only get in a game for 1-2 minutes, but his stats are poor even in games where he played a decent amount. In games with 8+ minutes played (7 games), Passmore still only averaged: 1.5 PPG, 1.0 RPG, 0.5 APG, 1.3 TOs P/G., while shooting 36% from the field.
Even though he had immense struggles in his first year in college, there is still a lot of untapped potential in Passmore’s game. He’s got great size, long arms, and incredible bounce. Overall, he’s a high level athlete that just needs a significant amount of polish to his game.
In the tape I have watched, it just seemed like a skill issue for Passmore. He struggled to get by his defender, and when he did get by his man he struggled to score at the rim. He also really struggled with his jumpshot. In his senior season at Combine High School (former HS of Trentyn Flowers), Passmore did shoot above 35% from three, so there is hope that his jump shot returns.
Overall, this would definitely be a depth add for the Cardinals loaded back court. I would be happy to add a player of Passmore’s athletic ability to the team. I wouldn’t expect much from him in year one, but he has the traits to develop into a great two-way player.
I would be shocked if he joined the Cardinals. He just spent all of last year struggling to see the floor, I’d imagine he transfers to a lower level Power 5 school where he can get on the floor more.
What’s the latest buzz?
Despite the down freshman season, Passmore is still getting looks from some high level programs. He will also be taking visits to Virginia and Miami in the next few days.
On a side note, Virginia seems like a horrible team for him to play on. He needs transition and fast play to succeed, and Virginia does the exact opposite.
For now, I wouldn’t expect Passmore to be a Cardinal, but he is someone to keep an eye on as a depth addition.
Brit Harris – G, South Carolina Upstate (6-4, 170 Lbs.)
This sharpshooter began his career in Division- II before finding a role as a knock down three point shooter at South Carolina Upstate last season.
Brit Harris began his career in the D-II ranks with Grand Valley State where he averaged 11.9 PPG his sophomore season. After two seasons in D-II, Harris transferred to South Carolina Upstate; where played about 24 minutes a night and started about half their games.
With the step up in competition, his stats remained about the same. Harris put up 11.6 PPG, 2.8 RPG, and 2.5 APG, while shooting 37% from three on more than 3.5 3PAs per game. This was all done on a South Carolina Upstate team that was horrible (winners of just six games all year).
Based on his highlights and stats, it seems like Harris would be nothing more than a depth add. He’s a solid spot up three point shooter, but everything else is just average. He does have the size for this level (6-4), but this isn’t a player I’m overly excited about. I imagine he’ll transfer to a much smaller D-I school where could possibly start.
What’s the latest buzz?
Nothing new to report here at this moment. I imagine this will not end up as a player the Cards take on.
