Louisville forward Khani Rooths plans to enter the transfer portal
University of Louisville sophomore forward Khani Rooths plans to enter his name in the NCAA transfer portal when it opens on April 7.
The 6-foot-10 forward has spent the first two years of his career with the Cardinals after flipping and committing to Pat Kelsey after decommitting from Michigan in the spring of 2024.
He is the second Cardinal to put his name into the transfer portal this spring, joining German forward Sananda Fru.
In 31 games and two starts this past winter, Rooths averaged 5.3 points and 4.3 rebounds in 15.9 minutes a contest. He shot it rather poorly from beyond the arc at just 22.4 percent, but made 44.9 percent of his total field goal attempts. The DMV product was also second on the team in blocks with 14 on the season.
In Rooths’ first year with the Cardinals, he was just one of four players to play in all 35 games while averaging 3.3 points.
While all of Rooths’ numbers improved in the jump from his freshman to sophomore year, he also grew two inches and added almost 15-pounds of muscle. Still, he never found consistency on the floor outside of a brief ACC-play stretch. Shortly after returning from an illness that kept him sidelined for four games, he exploded for three consecutive double-digit scoring performances. In a home win over SMU, he only missed one of his five shots and totaled a 12-point, 10-rebound double-double. Rooths then played 18+ minutes in each of the Cardinals’ next two games, with a double-double coming against Notre Dame.
Rooths played high school basketball at IMG Academy (FL), where he was a four-star prospect. He was the No. 33 overall player and No. 12 small forward in the 2024 recruiting cycle, according to the Rivals Industry Rankings.
A tenacious rebounder and high-flyer in transition, Rooths gave Louisville a nice burst of energy coming off the bench, and seven of his eight double-digit scoring games came when he was out of the starting lineup.
Now, maybe looking for a larger role and a change of scenery, Rooths will test the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.
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