By Vinny Porco
First reported by ESPN‘s Pete Thamel, top men’s basketball transfer portal recruits Flory Bidunga and Jackson Shelstad committed to Louisville on Sunday, April 12.
This move comes as a significant relief to the Cardinals, a team facing slim returning production amid graduations, transfers and star point guard Mikel Brown Jr. declaring for the NBA draft.
Bidunga is currently the highest-ranked transfer portal recruit according to rankings from both On3 and 247 Sports.
He averaged 13.3 points and nine rebounds per game starting at forward for a Kansas Jayhawks team led by standout NBA draft prospect Darryn Peterson in the 2025-26 season. Standing at six feet and ten inches tall, he will serve as an important paint presence in a system that has recently seen criticism for its lack thereof.
Source: Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad and Kansas big man Flory Bidunga have both committed to Louisville. A major package deal for the Cardinals, as the Louisville administration was aggressive in laying out a vision for building championship roster. pic.twitter.com/tyrIC0dZO0
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) April 12, 2026
Shelstad, a six-foot-tall point guard from Oregon, committed to Louisville as the 16th-ranked transfer according to 247 Sports. He was sidelined for much of the 2025-26 season due to injury, but looked solid in his last full season the year before averaging 13.7 points per game on nearly 38% from beyond the arc.
These two standout transfers will look to replace much of the departing production from the previous season. With transfer-portal departures of key rotational players like Sananda Fru and Khani Rooths, Pat Kelsey and the U of L recruiting staff will look to surround their new recruits and returning wing Adrian Wooley with a roster full of contributing role-players.
Feature Photo by Vinny Porco / The Louisville Cardinal
