Elite '27 C Darius Wabbington Names Louisville to Top Six

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program is one step closer to landing one of the top big men in high school hoops.

Phoenix (Ariz.) center Darius Wabbington, a five-star prospect in the Class of 2027, announced his list of top six schools on Tuesday, and the Cardinals are still in the running for his commitment.

Arizona, Kentucky, Indiana, North Carolina and Texas also made the cut for Wabbington, who also held offers from Alabama, Baylor, Purdue, USC and others. On top of announcing his top six, Wabbington also announced his first three official visits. UofL will get the first visit on Sept. 11, followed by Arizona on Sept. 25 and Texas on Oct. 9.

The 6-foot-11, 245-pound big man is a five-star prospect by two of the three main recruiting services, ranking as high as the No. 1 center by On3/Rivals and the No. 13 overall prospect by 247Sports. Wabbington comes in as the No. 2 center (behind only Scottsdale (Ariz.) Bella Vista Prep's Paul Osaruyi) and the 15th-ranked overall recruit in the 2027 cycle, per the 247Sports Composite.

Wabbington is this highly-regarded for a reason, as he's coming off of a prolific junior campaign for Sunnyslope. In 30 games tracked by MaxPreps, he averaged 17.2 points, 9.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.3 blocks and 1.0 steals per games, while also shooting 52.3 percent from the field. He helped guide the Vikings to a 28-2 overall record, which included the AIA State Championship and the No. 5 national ranking from MaxPreps.

The big man has looked the part out on the summer circuits as well. Playing for Compton Magic for the Adidas 3SSB circuit, he's currently averaging 13.6 points, 5.3 rebounds, and 2.4 assists per game. He also took part in the 2026 FIBA U18 Men's AmeriCup with USA Basketball, helping them win a silver medal after putting up 9.2 points, 4.2 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.2 steals in five games.

The Cardinals currently have one commitment in the 2027 cycle, coming from Louisville (Ky.) Fairdale forward Ferlandes Wright. They also held commitments from Orlando (Fla.) Southeastern Prep center Obinna Ekezie Jr. and Hickory (N.C.) Moravian Prep poitn guard Isac Ellis, both both reclassified to the Class of 2026 so that they could suit up this fall.

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