ACC Releases Preliminary Injury Report for Louisville at Cal

The Cardinals face the Golden Bears in their ACC opener.

Nov 21, 2025; Cincinnati, Ohio, USA; Louisville Cardinals guard Mikel Brown Jr. (0) passes the ball against Cincinnati Bearcats forward Tyler McKinley (24) in the first half at Heritage Bank Center. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-Imagn Images | Aaron Doster-Imagn Images

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The non-conference slate for the Louisville men's basketball program was largely a successful one. Year two under head coach Pat Kelsey has started out at 10-2 overall, with wins over rivals Kentucky and Indiana, albeit with decisive losses at Arkansas and Tennessee.

Next up, the Cardinals will officially began ACC play, traveling out west for a matchup against Cal in their conference opener. Tip-off against the Golden Bears is scheduled for Tuesday, Dec. 30 at 9:00 p.m. EST.

Heading into the matchup, both Louisville and Cal are dealing with their own respective injuries.

On the Louisville side, star true freshman point guard Mikel Brown Jr. has been listed as "probable" on the first availability report released by the ACC. Brown has missed the last two games at Tennessee and vs. Montana due to a lower back injury.

Additionally, backup point guard Kobe Rodgers was not listed, and will be good to go. He had to exit the game at Tennessee after taking an inadvertent foot to the head, then missed the game vs. Montana due to concussion protocol.

"We're hoping that time off will allow him to heal," head coach Pat Kelsey said regarding Brown in the postgame press conference following the win over Montana. "From a medical standpoint, I don't know the answers. ... We hope he makes progress over the next couple days, and we're hoping to have him and Kobe back when we get back from break."

Kelsey also added earlier Monday that both Brown and Rodgers were full participants in their practice this past Sunday.

With the matchup less than 24 hours away, we have our first inclination as to who could play, and will not. On Monday night, the ACC released the first availability report for Louisville's matchup at Cal. An updated report will also be released two hours before tip-off.

Below is the full report for both sides:

ACC's Initial Availability Report for Louisville vs. Cal

Louisville Cardinals

OUT

• #7 Kasean Pryor

QUESTIONABLE

• N/A

PROBABLE

• #0 Mikel Brown Jr.

Cal Golden Bears

OUT

• #0 Jovani Ruff
• #23 Sammie Yeanay
• #31 Rytis Petraitis

QUESTIONABLE

• #1 DeJuan Campbell
• #30 Stephon Marbury

PROBABLE

• #10 Justin Pippen
• #21 Nolan Dorsey

(Photo of Mikel Brown Jr.: Aaron Doster - Imagn Images)

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