2026 Forward, Louisville Target Colben Landrew Announces Collegiate Decision

Landrew had named the Cardinals to his final list of top schools.

Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler forward Colben Landrew | Adidas 3SSB

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Class of 2026 prospect Colben Landrew is officially off the board, and it's a recruitment where the Louisville men's basketball program once again came up short

The Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler forward announced Wednesday that he has given his verbal pledge to the UConn. He chose the Huskies mainly over Louisville, as well as Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Mississippi State, Ole Miss, Purdue, Texas, Texas A&M.

Louisville got involved late in Landrew's recruitment, only offering him a scholarship back on July 13. But they made up a ton of ground in his recruitment over the next month, even hosting him for an official visit back on Aug. 28.

However, the tide began to turn in favor of UConn over the last two weeks. After Landrew took an official visit to the Huskies on Oct. 4, they jumped Louisville as the presumptive favorite in his recruitment.

The 6-foot-6, 200-pound guard/wing is a consensus four-star prospect amongst the three major recruiting sites, and ranks as high as the No. 17 prospect in the Class of 2026, per On3/Rivals. The 247Sports Composite lists him as the No. 28 overall recruit in the cycle.

Landrew was extremely impactful last season for Wheeler as a junior, averaging 18.0 points, 6.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists per game. He helped the Wildcats go 29-3 to win the Class 6A state championship, and was named a 2024-25 MaxPreps All-American honorable mention.

For Louisville, missing out on Landrew is yet another negative development as of late out on the recruiting trail. Five-star point guard Tay Kinney, one of Louisville's top targets in the entire 2026 cycle, announced his commitment to Kansas, while four-star forward Anthony Felesi announced that he had cancelled his upcoming official visit to UofL.

That being said, te Cardinals have positioned themselves well with a handful of other blue chip prospects in the 2026 cycle. Pasadena (Calif.) HS center Josh Irving visited earlier this month, Atlanta (Ga.) Overtime Elite wing Gabe Nesmith will be on campus for the Kansas exhibition Oct. 24, while Miami (Fla) Columbus forward Jaxon Richardson will take his OV to the Cardinals on Nov. 8.

(Photo of Colben Landrew via Adidas 3SSB)

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