Louisville Transfer Target Dante Maddox Jr. Commits to Xavier

The former guard for Toledo was a Second-Team All-MAC selection this past season.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program and new head coach Pat Kelsey have been hitting the transfer portal hard since he was officially hired, but as the saying goes, you can't win them all.

Former Toledo guard Dante Maddox Jr., who was a Second-Team All-MAC selection this past season, announced Thursday on The Field of 68 that he has committed to Xavier. While in the end it came down to the Musketeers vs. the Cardinals, he chose Xavier also over Creighton, Illinois and Michigan.

Maddox had named Louisville to both his top eight and his top five, and even hosted him on an official this past weekend. However, he also took a visit to Xavier on Wednesday, where it appears the Musketeers made a last second push.

Losing out on the 6-foot-2, 195-pound point guard certainly stings, as he was one of the best players in the MAC this past season. Starting all 32 games for the Rockets, Maddox was their leading scorer at 15.6 points per game, while also averaging 4.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.4 steals. Maddox shot 43.8 percent from the field, 40.2 percent on three-point attempts and 86.2 percent at the free throw line.

That being said, the Cardinals have done a great job in the portal since Kelsey's hiring on Mar. 28. Guard Reyne Smith and center James Scott are both following Kelsey from Charleston, and both James Madison guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr. and Colorado guard J'Vonne Hadley are also in the fold.

Louisville is also in line to host a few transfers over the next few days. BYU's Aly Khalifa and Long Beach State's Aboubacar Traore will visit later today, plus Wake Forest's Kevin "Boopie" Miller and Washington's Koren Johnson will visit this weekend.

Louisville's four 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.

(Photo of Dante Maddox Jr. via University of Toledo Athletics)

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