Ex-Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad commits to Louisville

Pat Kelsey and Louisville have struck it big early in the NCAA Transfer Portal, landing former Oregon guard Jackson Shelstad. ESPN’s Pete Thamel initially reported a package deal of him and former Kansas big man Flory Bidunga to Louisville. On3’s Joe Tipton confirmed the news Sunday.

The former McDonalds All-American was initally set to take official visits with both the Cardinals and Arizona, but later canceled his trip to Tucson. From there, his process moved quickly and has ended with Louisville landing one of the country’s most sought-after transfers.

Shelstad was a former two-time Oregon Gatorade Player of the Year while in high school and a top-30 overall recruit, who largely lived up the hype in three years with the Ducks. This season, he averaged 15.6 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 4.9 assists in 12 games played before suffering a hand injury in December that kept him out the remainder of the year.

An Oregon native, he was named All-Big Ten Third Team honors in the 2024-25 season and was Pac-12 All-Freshman Team in 23-24. In his first two seasons with the Ducks, he shot 45% from the field and knocked down 115 3-pointers as one of the country’s deadliest outside shooters.

This season, he took on more of a facilitator role early on, leading the Ducks with 4.5 assists per game in non-conference play. However, his shooting numbers took a hit as his volume increased. In those 12 games prior to injury, he averaged 14 attempts per game — including nearly 9 per contest from beyond the arc. He shot just 39% from the field and 31% from 3, as the Ducks struggled to a 6-6 start.

Shelstad a big addition to Cardinals’ backcourt

The 6’0 guard missed the entire rest of the season with a right hand injury. He suffered a broken hand in the preseason and returned for the non-conference before further injuring it against Omaha at the end of December.

In Februrary, Ducks coach Dana Altman said the school would be applying for a medical redshirt due to the injury. It’s uncertain if he’ll receive it though after playing in more than 30% of the team’s games this season.

“He’s a couple games over [the limit], but definitely we’ll try to get him another year,” Altman said at the time.

He’ll now be a key piece for Kelsey and Co., who are replacing eight of their top nine players from last year’s NCAA Tournament team that fell to No. 3 seed Michigan in the Round of 32. In addition to seniors J’Vonne Hadley, Ryan Conwell and and Isaac McKneely graduation, star freshman Mikel Brown Jr. is set to enter the NBA Draft as an expected lottery pick.

Junior big men Sananda Fru and Khani Rooths have both entered the portal as well.