Louisville Lands Commitment from Washington Transfer Koren Johnson

The former guard for the Huskies is the reigning Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year.

Mar 8, 2023; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Washington Huskies guard Koren Johnson (0) / Stephen R. Sylvanie-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men’s basketball program has secured another high-impact transfer for new head coach Pat Kelsey’s first season at the helm.

Former Washington shooting guard Koren Johnson announced Monday that he has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals.

Johnson is the sixth transfer to commit to Louisville so far this offseason. Guard Reyne Smith and center James Scott are both following Kelsey from Charleston, while James Madison guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr. and Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley are also joining the fold. BYU center Aly Khalifa also committed, but will redshirt the 2024-25 season.

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound shooting guard spent the first two years of his collegiate career in Washington, and is coming off of his best season after earning Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year honors. Johnson averaged 11.1 points, 2.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals over 31 games and five starts, while also shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 37.3 percent on three-point attempts.

The Seattle native was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, and ranked as the No. 17 combo guard and No. 132 prospect in the Class of 2022 by the 247Sports Composite. In his freshman year for the Huskies, he averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 assists over 29 appearances all off the bench.

Louisville's six portal commitments will be far from their last transfer additions this offseason. Following the dismissal of second-year head coach Kenny Payne back on Mar. 13, the Cardinals' roster began to flip immediately.

11 Louisville players entered the portal following the end of their 2023-24 season, leaving the Cardinals with zero returning scholarship players. With two more graduating, the only player currently in line to return is walk-on guard Hercy Miller. UofL also has no committed high school recruits in their Class of 2024.

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