Class of 2024 PF Khani Rooths Commits to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program has officially landed their first high school prospect of the Pat Kelsey era.

Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy forward Khani Rooths announced Wednesday that he has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals. He is coming off of a visit to campus from this past weekend.

“I felt 100% after actually meeting the staff and Coach Pat Kelsey that I wanted to play for them and they would get the best out of me,” Rooths told On3's Joe Tipton. “I loved the way they play and felt like I would thrive in that way. Louisville being Louisville was the icing on the cake.”

Rooths had previously been committed to Michigan since last November. However, he did not sign during the early signing period, and reopened his recruitment this past March after the Wolverines fired head coach Juwan Howard.

The 6-foot-8, 200-pound power forward is not only the No. 1 uncommitted prospect in the cycle, he's one of the best recruits in the nation overall. The consensus four-star prospect ranks as the No. 31 recruit in the nation according to the 247Sports Composite.

Last summer out on the Adidas 3SSB circuit for New World, Rooths was aggressive around the rim, averaging 15.6 points and 5.5 rebounds per game. During the Nike EYBL Scholastic with IMG Academy, Rooths put up 8.8 points, 4.7 rebounds, 1.9 assists and 1.4 blocks per game.

Rooths' commitment to Louisville is a big development not only because of his recruiting pedigree, but because it helps address an area of need for the Cardinals. Prior to Tuesday, when UofL landed USF transfer Kasean Pryor, UofL had just one healthy big man on their roster for the 2024-25 season in Charleston transfer James Scott.

The Cardinals now have 11 players on their current roster, with the other 10 being transfers. Scott and guard Reyne Smith are both following Kelsey from Charleston, while Pryor, James Madison guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr., Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley and Washington guard Koren Johnson are also joining the fold.

BYU center Aly Khalifa and Charleston guard Kobe Rodgers also committed, but both will redshirt the 2024-25 season to rehab respective injuries.

(Photo of Khani Rooths via On3)

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