Local '26 LB Karsten Busch Commits to Louisville

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville football program has just won a massive recruiting battle for a prospect in their own backyard.

Class of 2026 linebacker Karsten Busch, who plays roughly two miles away from UofL's campus at St. Xavier, announced Friday night that he has given his verbal pledge to the Cardinals. He chose Louisville primarily over Kentucky, Indiana and Wisconsin.

Louisville was the very first Division I program to offer Busch a scholarship, extending back in early June of 2024. He's since made several unofficial visits to campus, and is scheduled to take an official visit on May 30.

Securing a commitment from Busch is a massive deal for the Cardinals, and not just from a local perspective. The linebacker ranks as high as the No. 282 prospect in the cycle, according to On3's in-house rankings. He's regarded as the No. 512 recruit in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite.

With a composite rating of 0.8807, Busch is the highest-rated prospect based out of the city of Louisville to commit to the Cardinals since Selah Brown in the Class of 2022 (0.8922), and the 11th-highest in the modern recruiting era.

As a junior this past season for St. X, Busch tallied 59 tackles, 12 of which came for a loss, and seven sacks. He helped guide the Tigers to a 7-5 record, including a berth in the second round of the KHSAA Class 6A state playoffs.

Louisville is now up to a seven-man 2026 recruiting class with Busch's commitment, which ranks as the No. 25 class in the nation, per247Sports.

(Photo of Karsten Busch via Twitter/X)

You can follow Louisville Cardinals On SI for future coverage by liking us on Facebook, Twitter/X and Instagram:

Facebook - @LouisvilleOnSI
Twitter/X - @LouisvilleOnSI
Instagram - @louisvilleonsi

You can also follow Deputy Editor Matthew McGavic at @Matt_McGavic on Twitter/X and @mattmcgavic.bsky.social on Bluesky