Kasean Pryor's Rehab 'On Pace' Following ACL Injury

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Among the bevy of injuries that the Louisville men's basketball program experienced last season, the one to Kasean Pryor arguably had the biggest impact on the team.

The 6-foot-10, 230-pound stretch forward joined the program last offseason as a transfer from South Florida, and was expected to be one of the top contributors on the team. However, he wound up missing most of the 2024-25 season, suffering a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee on Nov. 29 in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game vs. Oklahoma.

Pryor had the opportunity to return for the 2025-26 season due to the Diego Pavia ruling, and he announced back in late April that he would indeed be running it back with the Cardinals. Since initially suffering his injury, Pryor has been hard at work with his rehabilitation process.

According to head coach Pat Kelsey, Pryor has not had any snags with his rehab, and could even be ahead of schedule.

"From a medical standpoint, he's on pace, probably even ahead of schedule," Kelsey said earlier this month. "You'd have to talk to (head athletic trainer) Katie (Creznic) about that. But that's typically a 9-12 month thing, and he's exactly where he needs to be. ... She's doing an unbelievable job with him, and he's busting his tail."

Getting Pryor back for year two under Kelsey is massive for the Cardinals. While he had a bit of trouble finding his shooting stroke last season, he still averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in his seven games and three starts last year.

The season before with USF, Pryor was the Bulls' third-leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, while also pulling down a team-best 7.9 rebounds. He also averaged 1.8 assists, shot 44.7/35.2/81.5 for the season, and logged 12 double-doubles.

The Chicago, Ill. native played his first two seasons at Boise State, then spent his junior year at Northwest Florida State. There, he started all 35 games, averaging 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.

However, while Pryor hasn't run into any setbacks, it's not a guarantee that he'll be able to play in their preseason exhibitions, or even the 2025-26 season opener. As far as when he will get to return to action, Kelsey and Co. are going to play it by ear, and not try and rush him.

"Typically around the nine month mark is usually when you start to get to progression of full contact," Kelsey said. "We're hoping some time in the preseason he can practice before a game starts, but we'll have to just see how that how that plays out."

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