Louisville Just Landed Two Top-10 Portal Guys and the College Basketball World Noticed
Louisville basketball made a statement move on Sunday that sent shockwaves through the entire transfer portal landscape. The Cardinals landed commitments from two of the hottest names available, and the speed at which they locked them down tells you everything about where Pat Kelsey's program is heading.
Former Kansas big man Flory Bidunga and former Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad both committed to Louisville for 2026-27, per ESPN sources. Bidunga ranked No. 1 in the portal rankings, while Shelstad came in at No. 11. That's not a coincidence. That's a calculated strike by a coaching staff that knows what it's doing.
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Bidunga is the kind of player that changes how defenses have to think about you. Last season as a Kansas sophomore, he averaged 13.3 points and 9.0 rebounds per game while shooting 64.0% from the field, best in the Big 12. He also led the conference in blocked shots with 2.6 per game. The guy is 6-foot-9, 220 pounds of low-post production. As a freshman in 2024-25, he led the Big 12 in 2-point field goal percentage at 69.8%. That's elite efficiency.
Shelstad Adds Floor General Experience
Shelstad played just 12 games last season as a junior due to a hand injury, but his track record speaks for itself. Before getting hurt, he was putting up 15.6 points and 4.9 assists per game. In three seasons at Oregon, he started 77 games and averaged 13.6 points and 3.0 assists. In his last full season during 2024-25, he shot 37.9% from 3-point range while starting all 35 games for the Ducks. He's expected to have one year of eligibility remaining under current rules.
Both deals were negotiated by Momentous Sports Partners, and the move shows Kelsey isn't messing around. He's building on the momentum from his first two seasons at Louisville, which have already included back-to-back NCAA tournament appearances. This year the Cardinals earned a No. 6 seed, beat South Florida in the first round, then fell to No. 3 Michigan State in the second round.
With Bidunga and Shelstad now on board, Louisville just put itself in early position for the country's best portal haul this offseason. The ACC just got a whole lot more interesting.
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