Louisville Expecting Adrian Wooley to 'Make a Big Leap' in 2026-27

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - When discussing the Louisville men's basketball program's upcoming 2026-27 season, most of the discussion revolves around the new faces within the program. Given the talent level that the Cardinals brought in via the transfer portal and high school ranks, it's hard not to.

UofL is welcoming a six-man portal class, headlined by No. 1 overall transfer Flory Bidunga, with this haul being regarded as the top transfer class in the cycle. Additionally, their three-man high school class, which has five-star center Obinna Ekezie Jr. as the headliner, is the No. 20 class in the Class of 2026 cycle, per 247Sports. Put this together, and these nine newcomers rank as the No. 5 overall talent haul in the sport, according to 247Sports.

These new faces were brought in to replace the 11 players that departed the program, which left Louisville with just two returners from the 2025-26 season. But while the vast majority of their expected production this upcoming season is going to come from players who didn't play for the Cards last year, it's anticipated that one of their returners is going to play a crucial role this upcoming season.

After spending his true freshman season at Kennesaw State, Adrian Wooley opted to hit the transfer portal last offseason, and wound up choosing to continue his collegiate career at Louisville. Heading into his second year at UofL and third overall year in college, head coach Pat Kelsey anticipates that Wooley is going to "make a big leap" this upcoming season.

"It's awesome to have Adrian back for that continuity," Kelsey said. "He had an awesome first year here. He was asked to do a lot, he had to change positions mid-year and learn a completely new position, and did an unbelievable job of that.

"You could see there's a comfort level with him this summer vs. last year when he first got here, and it is brand new. His body's gotten stronger, and he's just always had a very, very good professional approach. I've bragged about him many times in these type of settings, because he deserves it. with his daily approach and his competitiveness. We expect him to make a big leap this year."

The 6-foot-4, 200-pound combo guard was a big time pickup for the Cardinals last offseason, as he was coming off of a season where he was named the Conference-USA Freshman of the Year and earned First-Team All-CUSA honors. In his lone season with the Owls, he averaged 18.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.4 steals in 33 games, while also shooting 51.2 percent from the field and 42.2 percent on three-point attempts.

Over the first two months of the season, the Tuscaloosa, Ala. native showed flashes of what made him so successful at Kennesaw State. On the other hand, there were games where it was noticeable that Wooley was still adjusting to high major college basketball - especially when conference play started.

During the first 28 games, he was mostly a bench piece, but he also made nine starts, stepping into the starting lineup when Mikel Brown Jr.'s back injury first flared up and forced him to be sidelined. Part the adjustment process was going from playing off the ball when Brown was available, and transitioning to the primary ball handler when Brown was out.

When Brown's back injury was re-aggravated, this forced Wooley back into the starting lineup, and he started the final seven games of the season. This was also when he played his best basketball.

In those final seven gamess, Wooley averaged 12.5 points and 5.5 rebounds and 1.5 assists, while shooting 50.0 percent overall and 40.0 percent from the field. Prior to that, he had been averaging 8.0 points, 3.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists while shooting 43.9 overall and 34.1 on threes.

Once the season ended, Wooley could have very easily opted to hit the portal like so many others did. For a while, it seemed like that was going to be the outcome. But at the end of the day, he chose to stay, citing his trust in Kelsey and his vision.

"I told coach that I trusted him in whatever he does," Wooley said. "Just coming back, knowing that I had something to prove, I feel like I left a lot out there last year. Just coming back, with a new team, it was just a trust thing."

With the offseason now in full swing, he's keeping his head down and sticking to his process - in hopes that he can retain that late season form.

"Just continuing to work, putting in extra hours in the gym - whether it is with my teammates or by myself. Just trying to help the guys figure it out as well. Being a leader, being able to talk to my team, and stuff like that."

He's sticking to his process, but practices are looking a little different this summer - and not just because of all his new teammates. Kelsey also brought in Campbell head coach John Andrzejek and Clemson assistant Sean Dixon to be co-associate head coaches at UofL, and both coaches have defensive-minded backgrounds.

During summer workouts and team practices, considering Louisville has myraid of new faces on the court and on the sideline, the team is busy working on executing and installing what they want to run while also playing the strengths of their players - including Wooley.

We're running a lot of different stuff this year. We're trying to figure it out with (learning under) a different staff, we're trying different things and see if they work. We got a different roster too, so we're just trying to make things work for us, and see how it works from beginning to season to end.

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