Louisville Reaches Out to Several '25 Prospects on First Day of Contact Period

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Thursday was a big day in terms of the men's college basketball recruiting calendar. It marked the first day where prospects in the Class of 2025 could receive unlimited personal contact and recruiting materials from coaches. As you can imagine, Louisville took full advantage of this.

According to On3's Joe Tipton, Stockrisers' Jake Weingarten and 24/7 High School Hoops, the Cardinals' staff reached out to four different 2025 prospects on the first day of the contact period: Plano (Tex.) Prestonwood Christian center Francis Chukwudebelu, Wichita (Kan.) Sunrise Christian point guard Jeremiah Fears, Chicago (Ill.) Montverde Academy shooting guard Bryce Heard, Versailles (Ky.) Woodford County combo guard Jasper Johnson and Erlanger (Ky.) Lloyd power forward E.J. Walker.

Johnson is the highest-ranked recruit of the four, coming in as the No. 23 player in the nation and a five-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite. The two parties have already had plenty of contact in the past, with Louisville extending Johnson a scholarship offer back in January. Playing for Team Thad out on the Nike EYBL circuit, the 6-foot-4, 170-pound guard put up 12.3 points, 3.2 rebounds and 2.5 assists per game, while shooting 51.0 percent from the field and 40.3 percent on threes.

Chukwudebelu is also an elite prospect, ranking as the No. 37 recruit in the nation by the 247Sports Composite. Louisville has been involved in his recruitment for some time now, with the staff first making contact with the 6-foot-10, 220-pound pig man last September. He took part in the E16 leg of the Nike EYBL this summer, putting up 9.0 points and 7.0 rebounds in four games for Houston Hoops.

Heard isn't too far behind Chukwudebelu, with the 247Sports Composite ranking him as the No. 41 player in the nation. The 6-foot-5, 180-pound shooting guard helped Montverde go 23-3 this past season, and played for Mac Irvin Fire out on the E16 leg of the Nike EYBL.

Fears comes in as the No. 40 prospect in the class according to On3's in-house rankings. The 5-foot-11, 165-pound point guard put together a solid showing for the EYBL's Brad Beal Elite, averaging 9.4 points, 3.3 assists and 2.7 rebounds.

Walker isn't nationally ranked by any major recruiting services, but has generated some high-major interest, garnering offers from places like Purdue, Wisconsin, Xavier and West Virginia. The 6-foot-8, 220-pound power forward has been playing for Midwest 16U on the Adidas 3SSB circuit this summer.

So far, head coach Kenny Payne has extended scholarship offers to just five prospects in the class: Johnson, La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere School shooting guard Jerry Easter, Las Vegas (Nev.) Bishop Gorman power forward Chris Nwuli, St. Louis (Mo.) Vashon power forward Nicholas Randall and Midland (Penn.) Lincoln Park point guard Meleek Thomas.

(Photo of Jasper Johnson via A Sea of Blue)

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