Louisville Offers 2025-26 National Junior of the Year

The Class of 2027 point guard is a five-star prospect.

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Calvary Christian point guard Cayden Daughtry | City of Palms

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Head coach Pat Kelsey and the Louisville men's basketball program haven't been shy about pursuing top talent since he took over. Now, he's added one of the top prospects in the Class of 2027 to the Cardinals' list of targets.

Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Calvary Christian guard Cayden Daughtry, a five-star prospect and the 2025-26 MaxPreps National Junior of the Year, announced Saturday that he had been extended a scholarship offer to play for the Cardinals. He also holds offers from Florida, Kentucky, Miami, Michigan, Villanova, Virginia and others.

The offer came following a standout performance from Daughtry at the 2026 NBPA Top 100 Camp in Rock Hill, S.C. this past week, where Kelsey plus assistants Ronnie Hamilton, Peyton Siva and Sean Dixon were in attendance. Daughtry averaged 13.8 points plus 2.8 assists, and shot 65 percent from the field and 38 percent on three-point attempts in four games - including a pair of 20-point performances.

The 6-foot-0, 155-pound point guard is a consensus top-25 prospect in the 2027 cycle, ranking as high as the No. 13 overall recruit per ESPN. The 247Sports Composite tabs him as the fourth-ranked point guard and the 16th-ranked overall prospect in the nation.

There's a reason why Daughtry was named the National Junior of the Year by MaxPreps. This past season in 22 games, he averaged 26.5 points, 5.2 assists, 4.5 rebounds and 2.7 steals, while shooting 54.5 percent from the floor and 36.8 percent on threes. He helped guide the Eagles to a 24-1 overall record, including their second consecutive Class 3A state championship. Daughtry had 30 points, eight assists, four rebounds and four steals in the title game.

Daughtry is one of just fout uncommitted point guards in the 2027 cycle to hold a scholarship offer from the Cardinals. Houston (Tex.) Second Baptist's Reese Alston, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Prolific Prep's Nasir Anderson and Shreveport (La.) Calvary Baptist's Tyrone Jamison are the others, with UofL having offers out to 10 total uncommitted prospects in the cucle.

Louisville has one commitment in the Class of 2027, coming from La Porte (Ind.) La Lumiere forward and Louisville native Ferlandes Wright, who is set to return to the Derby City for his senior season at Fairdale HS.

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(Photo of Cayden Daughtry via City of Palms)