Scout & Fit: Louisville commit Gabe Dynes

Louisville beat out schools like NC State, Xavier, and Kentucky for in-state product and 7-foot-5 transfer Gabe Dynes.

The senior center is now the sixth Louisville commitment during this portal cycle. He joins Jackson Shelstad, Flory Bidunga, Alvaro Folguieras, De’Shayne Montgomery, and Karter Knox as additions to Louisville’s 2026-27 roster.

Entering his final season of eligibility with the Cardinals, Dynes spent this past year at USC, where he averaged 2.9 points, 2.3 rebounds, and shot 78.8 percent from the floor in 30 games (11.8 mins), mostly coming off the bench. The Independence, Kentucky, and Simon Kenton product made six starts for the Trojans and finished in double figures three times. He scored a season-high 16 points against UC Santa Cruz and eight rebounds against Maryland.

Dynes started his career at Youngstown State, where he was named to the Horizon League’s first team defense twice.

Transfer Portal: Live updates as Louisville, Pat Kelsey begin reshaping the roster

Offensive Scouting Report

As one of the biggest players in college basketball the past three seasons, Gabe Dynes has proven to be a contributor for spurts on the offensive end. Now, he’s not someone you can throw the ball to in a one-on-one situation in the post; his footwork isn’t at that level. However, he creates opportunities for himself on the offensive glass, and not just because of his size.

Dynes posted an offensive rebounding percentage of 11.7 last season, which would have been the third-highest among Cardinals (Fru, Zougris), and had 10 games where he recorded more than one offensive rebound. It seems small, but for someone who’s only on the floor for 4-5 minute spurts, and is also a bit matchup dependent, he is an efficient rebounder. One aspect of Dynes’ game that has tremendously improved is his positioning, especially on the offensive end. For a 7-foot-5 and 214-pounder, he also moves well and is a smart player, knowing where to be when shots go up and what spots play to his advantage.

Spacing can be an issue with someone like Dynes, who doesn’t take 3s or stretch the floor. Louisville’s guards will have to adjust to his game speed, which will be the slowest of the Cardinals’ bigs. Most of his baskets this coming season should be dunks, and he’ll have to improve as a roller in the screen game and at finishing through contact. Dynes will get fouled. He played only 27 percent of the minutes last year, which sounds about right for him at the high-major level, and drew 3.9 fouls per 40 minutes. A bad free-throw shooter (sub. 500 in career), working on improving his touch will also be a focus.

Turnovers are another thing that have hurt Dynes in his college career. He’s not much of a passer at all, and there are times when a lack of coordination hurts him with playmaking. Dynes is not someone who will get offensive touches on the perimeter, and he shouldn’t. With the Trojans, he put up an assist rate of 5.9 and a turnover rate of 30.4.

Defensive Scouting Report

Size matters, especially on defense, and that’s exactly what Dynes provides the Cardinals at 7-foot-5 and with what is one of the longest wingspans in the country. As a sophomore at Youngstown, Dynes had the third-best block percentage in the country (14.4) and totaled 14 games with four or more denials. Obviously, those numbers didn’t translate directly to USC, but Dynes still found ways to make an impact.

He’s not a skinny 7-foot-5, so he never got pushed around and never completely outclassed by his matchup. In no world should Dynes be chasing screens and running around the perimeter defending multiple positions.

In the past two seasons under Pat Kelsey, Louisville has rarely played drop coverage in the pick-and-roll. With Dynes on the roster and the overall level of rim protection improved, that’s something we should expect the Cards to consider.

The addition of John Andrzejek to Louisville’s staff makes for an interesting and new frontcourt dynamic next season. He worked extensively with 7-footers during his two years under Todd Golden at Florida and, as we know, won the national title with the Gators behind one of the nation’s best defenses.

How will he fit in Louisville’s system?

Like USC, it’s more likely that Louisville turns to Dynes when they need a boost on the glass or at the rim defensively. Dynes won’t be suitable for every matchup, so Kelsey and staff have to figure out a way to use his skillset to the best — something they haven’t had in the past two years.

Louisville has taken an opposite approach to roster building than they did last year, and Dynes’ sheer size will make a big impact for the Cardinals on the offensive glass and at the rim.