Louisville's James Scott enters the NCAA Transfer Portal

James Scott was one of a trio that followed Pat Kelsey from Charleston to Louisville. He’ll now be playing for a new head coach, though, with his latest decision.

Scott has entered his name into the NCAA Transfer Portal. That news comes this morning per On3’s Joe Tipton and Pete Nakos with his paperwork having processed since the closing of the portal last night.

Scott has appeared in 70 games for the Cougars and Cardinals under Kelsey in his two collegiate seasons so far. He’s averaged 6.0 points (77% FG), 4.7 rebounds, 1.1 blocks, and 1.0 assists in those outings as an underclassman. That includes stats of 7.1 points (75.5% FG), 6.1 rebounds, and 1.4 assists as the starting center this season for the Cards.

A native of Fayetteville, North Carolina, Smith was the No. 254 overall recruit as a three-star in the 2023 cycle. He also rated as a Top-40 center and as the No. 10 player out of North Carolina. That’s according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Scott was one of a dozen additions in the portal last offseason for Louisville amidst the coaching change to Kelsey, including one of three from his previous program along with Reyne Smith and Kobe Rodgers.

Scott will now be just one of few transfers out of the program with the portal having closed on Tuesday. The Cardinals’ only other departure was Koren Johnson, who, after transferring in from Washington played just two games this season with a shoulder injury, rated as a Top-50 PG transfer who committed last week to Ole Miss.

However, in turn, Louisville has brought in one of the best portal classes in the country so far this offseason. They’ve added a trio of guards in Adrian Wooley (Kennesaw State), Isaac McKneely (Virginia), and Ryan Conwell (Xavier), all three of who are in the Top-20 per the latest update to On3’s Industry Ranking of 2025’s Top Transfer Portal Players with them all now coming to The ‘Ville as, despite the pair of losses, which now includes Scott, the No. 11 transfer class currently according to 2025’s Team Transfer Portal Rankings.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.