A 2026 reclass five-star center has picked Louisville over Kentucky

Mark Pope and his coaching staff have been recruiting five-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr. for months now, and he just picked his school. Painful enough for Big Blue Nation, Ekezie Jr. just announced that he is going to reclass to 2026 and has committed to Pat Kelsey and the Louisville Cardinals. The 7’1 center was a top five player in the 2027 class before reclassifying and will be a massive boost to a Louisville frontcourt that looks really good.

This has been an offseason filled with frustration for Coach Pope and all of Big Blue Nation, but it is the complete opposite for the Louisville Cardinals. Kelsey has done an excellent job in the portal and recruiting high school, and Louisville should be one of the better teams in the nation next season.

BREAKING: Louisville has landed one of the best big man available in Obinna Ekezie Jr., and he intends to reclassify and play for the Cardinals this season. ⁰⁰The 7-1 Ekezie was the No. 2 ranked player in the country in the Class of 2027, per On3. ⁰⁰He’s a skilled big man who…
— Jeff Goodman (@GoodmanHoops) May 3, 2026

With the Wildcats officially missing Ekezie Jr., Coach Pope will have to figure out a center to play behind Malachi Moreno. It sounds like Marcio Santos, the player Coach Pope flew to Israel to see last week, could be heading to LSU, so the hunt for a backup center is still on for Pope and his staff.

There are a bunch of targets that the staff is after outside of the United States at the center position, so it seems like this is the direction Pope is going to go for a player to back up Moreno.

Ekezie Jr. is a really good player, and even though he has reclassified, I expect him to have a large role for Louisville next season. Pope and some of his staff members at the beginning of April were in to see Ekezie Jr., but it just never really felt like the Wildcats were in a good spot. Maryland and Louisville felt like the two schools to beat for the five-star center, but the Wildcats' arch-rival was able to get the job done.

Mar 22, 2026; St. Louis, MO, USA; Kentucky Wildcats head coach Mark Pope looks on after the game against the Iowa State Cyclones during a second round game of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Enterprise Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Curry-Imagn Images | Jeff Curry-Imagn Images

Missing on a really good recruit is always frustrating, but it is even more frustrating for the fanbase when that player goes to your rival. This has been a rough offseason for Kentucky, and Pope has to make some kind of big move soon, or next year might not be pretty for the Wildcats.

Pope is still looking for a few pieces to this team, and one of those pieces will have to be a center who can play behind the Kentucky native Moreno. This is something to watch out for over the next few weeks.

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