Louisville to host USC C, Kentucky native Gabe Dynes this week
Louisville basketball and head coach Pat Kelsey have another big week of recruiting in the Transfer Portal.
On3’s Joe Tipton reports that the Cardinals will be hosting USC junior Gabe Dynes this Thursday.
Transfer Portal: Live updates as Louisville, Pat Kelsey begin reshaping the roster
Dynes has also lined up trips to Kentucky, Xavier, NC State, and Georgia. The 7-foot-5, 214-pound center is a native of Independence, Kentucky, where he played in high school at Simon Kenton just across the border from Cincinnati. He will be at Xavier on Tuesday, followed by Kentucky on Wednesday.
This past season, Dynes averaged 2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and shot 78.8 percent from the floor across 30 games. Although he was primarily a backup over the course of his one-year career with the Trojans, Dynes did make six starts and finished in double-figures on three occasions. He scored a season-best 16 points in a late December win over UC Santa Cruz and also tallied 10 points and a season-high eight rebounds in a Big Ten win over Maryland.
He averaged just over 11.9 minutes per contest under Eric Musselman.
Dynes originally started his college career at Youngstown State, where he was named to the Horizon League All-Defensive Team twice. In the 2024-25 season, he led the nation with 104 blocks and averaged 6.9 points and 5.8 rebounds per game. Dynes added four double-doubles for the Penguins that season and helped Ethan Faulkner’s team reach 21 wins. The seven-footer’s block rate of 14.4 was the third-best among individual college basketball players that year, and he also led the Horizon League, making 72.4 percent of his field goals. More is known for his defense, Dynes has only attempted two 3-pointers in his three-year career, and this past season shot just 35.3 percent from the line.
Unranked out of high school, Dynes was named the Division 1 Defensive Player of the Year when he was a senior.
Louisville has just three commitments in this year’s transfer portal. Kansas center Flory Bidunga and Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad were the first two players to commit to the Cardinals out of the transfer portal. Plus, Louisville has added Arkansas wing Karter Knox and announced the return of sophomore guard Adrian Wooley.
Still, there are ways Louisville must round out the roster, including finding a backup center like Dynes. On3 lists him as the No. 17-ranked center in this year’s Transfer Portal and No. 152-ranked player overall.
Louisville basketball 2026 offseason roster and staff tracker
