Five-Star '27 Prospect Names Louisville to Top Four

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - While the Louisville men's basketball program is still in the hunt for their first commit in the 2026 cycle, they're making a ton of progress in the recruitment of one of the top prospects in the next class.

Phoenix (Ariz.) PHHoenix Prep forward Javon Bardwell, a five-star prospect in the Class of 2027, announced his list of top four schools on Tuesday. Louisville, along with Kansas, Texas and USC, are the four schools still in the running for his commitment.

Louisville has established themselves as a major player in Bardwell's recruitment in a short amount of time, only extending him a scholarship offer this past June. That being said, the Cardinals were just the eighth D1 school to offer Bardwell, and most importantly, the first one among his four finalists.

The 6-foot-6, 175-pound wing ranks as high as the No. 5 small forward and the No. 13 overall prospect in the 2027 cycle, per 247Sports' in-house rankings. The 247Sports Composite tabs him as the No. 26 recruit in the nation.

Bardwell spent this past season with the Overtime Elite, and put together an efficient 2024-25 campaign. In 18 regular season games with the Diamond Doves, he averaged 17.7 points, 5.4 rebounds, 1.6 assists and 1.2 steals per game, while shooting 45.7 percent from the floor and 32.2 percent on three-point tries.

While Louisville is very busy recruiting in the more immediate 2026 cycle, they've long been laying the groundwork for prospects in the Class of 2027. They've offered 11 uncommitted prospects in the cycle, most of which are regarded as top-25 prospects.

Louisville has yet to land a prospect in the Class of 2026, but they are deep in the mix with several prospects. On top of extending scholarship offers to 13 top-25 prospects by the 247Sports Composite, a decent chunk of them have taken visits to the Cardinals, or plan to in the future.

Sherman Oaks (Calif.) Notre Dame wing Tyran Stokes and Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI Catholic guard Jordan Smith Jr. both took official visits last October; while Marietta (Ga.) Wheeler forward Colben Landrew, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy forward Cole Cloer and Pasadena (Calif.) HS center Josh Irving all visited earlier this month.

Hurricane (UT) Utah Prep small forward Anthony Felesi and Atlanta (Ga.) Overtime Elite wing Gabe Nesmith will be on campus for the Kansas exhibition in October, while Miami (Fla) Columbus forward Jaxon Richardson will take his OV to the Cardinals on Nov. 8.

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