An Early Look at Louisville's 2026 Big Board

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - June 15 marked a big day in the men's college basketball recruiting world, as it was the first day in which coaches could directly reach out to prospects in the Class of 2026. Previously, coaches could only reach out to prospect via third parties.

Louisville head coach Pat Kelsey and the rest of the Cardinals coaching staff certainly took advantage of the change in the recruiting calendar. Over the last several weeks and months, the program has reached out to several prospects in the class, and even extended a few scholarship offers.

The staff's activity since mid-June, and even before that, gives us a look as to what juniors-to-be Louisville is currently targeting and putting a priority on. Most of these recruits will not be giving verbal commits to a school for quite some time, and there are plenty of other targets Louisville is keeping tabs on, but let's take a lot at the Cardinals' top targets thus far in the Class of 2026:

Kayden Allen

Vitals: 6-foot-6, 190 pounds
School: Montverde (Fla.) Academy
Top Offers: Auburn, Cincinnati, Seton Hall, Tennessee, Texas A&M
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9944 (13th)

Note: Was one of the first 2026 prospects offered by Kelsey and his staff, getting offered back on Apr. 21.

Latrell Allmond

Vitals: 6-foot-8, 205 pounds
School: Richmond (Va.) John Marshall
Top Offers: Georgetown, NC State, Providence, Tennessee, Virginia
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9835 (44th)

Note: Offered two days after Allen was on Apr. 23, and told 247Sports he hopes to visit Louisville "this summer."

Ikenna Alozie

Vitals: 6-foot-3, 185 pounds
School: Glendale (Ariz.) Dream City Christian
Top Offers: Creighton, Kansas, Oregon, UCLA, Villanova
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9965 (9th)

Note: Alozie was one of several prospects that received an offer from Louisville on the first day of the contact period.

Cole Cloer

Vitals: 6-foot-6, 180 pounds
School: Hillsborough (N.C.) Orange
Top Offers: Georgetown, Illinois, NC State, North Carolina, Tennessee
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9896 (25th)

Note: Was also one of over a dozen prospects to be extended an offer on June 15.

Jalyn Collingwood

Vitals: 6-foot-5, 190 pounds
School: Washington (D.C) Sidwell Friends
Top Offers: Murray State, Norfilk State
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): N/A

Note: Collingwood is HS teammates with 2025 target Acaden Lewis, who is set to visit Louisville this fall.

Favour Ibe

Vitals: 7-foot-1, 235 pounds
School: Lanham (Mary.) Mt. Zion Prep
Top Offers: Arizona State, Georgia, Georgia Tech
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): N/A

Note: Received an offer from the Louisville staff after they watched him at the NBPA Top 100 camp on June 12.

Taylen Kinney

Vitals: 6-foot-0, 160 pounds
School: Newport (Ky.) HS
Top Offers: Cincinnati, Illinois, Indiana, Tennessee, Xavier
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9891 (28th)

Note: Was originally offered by the previous staff in March of 2023, was re-offered this past May.

Neiko Munday

Vitals: 6-foot-1, 165 pounds
School: Olney (Mary.) Our Lady Good Counsel
Top Offers: Illinois, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Texas Tech, Wake Forest
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9698 (78th)

Note: Munday was the third prospect in the Class of 2026 - after Allen and Allmond - to be offered by Louisville's current staff, receiving his in mid-May.

Deron Rippey Jr.

Vitals: 6-foot-2, 175 pounds
School: Blairstown (N.J.) Blair Academy
Top Offers: Illinois, Maryland, Oklahoma State, Syracuse, Villanova
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9904 (23rd)

Note: Louisville's staff watched him at the NBPA Top 100 camp, then offered him a few days later on the first day of the contact period.

Jordan Smith Jr.

Vitals: 6-foot-3, 170 pounds
School: Fairfax (Va.) Paul VI Catholic
Top Offers: Georgetown, Houston, Michigan, Syracuse, Villanova
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9969 (8th)

Note: A top-10 prospect in the cycle, Smith also received an offer from Louisville on the first day of the contact period.

Tyran Stokes

Vitals: 6-foot-7, 245 pounds
School: Napa (Calif.) Prolific Prep
Top Offers: Alabama, Kansas, Kentucky, North Carolina, UCLA
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9998 (1st)

Note: The near-consensus No. 1 prospect in the class, Stokes was born in Louisville and lived there until he was nine, and Kelsey reached out almost immediately after getting the job.

Gabe Weis

Vitals: 6-foot-6, 170 pounds
School: Springfield (Ky.) Washington County
Top Offers: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Texas A&M, Xavier
247Sports Composite Rating (Nat'l Rank): 0.9719 (71st)

Note: Originally offered by the last staff this past November, heard from the current staff on the first day of the contact period.

(Photo of Tyran Stokes: Katie Goodale / USA TODAY NETWORK)

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