Former Xavier guard Ryan Conwell commits to Louisville

According to ESPN’s Jonathan Givony, Louisville has landed Ryan Conwell out of the NCAA transfer portal. Conwell previously played for Xavier and decided to leave the program after Sean Miller accepted the Texas job. A massive get for head coach Pat Kelsey, building out an impressive roster for the 2024-2025 season.

“NEWS: Xavier transfer Ryan Conwell has committed to Louisville, CAA Basketball’s NIL Division told ESPN,” Givony said via X. “Huge pickup for Pat Kelsey with one of the best available players in the portal.”

This was Conwell’s second time going through the portal process. His career began back in 2022 at USF before leaving in favor of Indiana State after one season. Another short stint in Terre Haute saw Conwell stay in the Midwest but into a power conference for the first time.

Conwell averaged 16.5 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 2.5 assists per game while shooting 45.0% from the field and 41.2% from beyond the arc during the 2024-2025 season. He was Xavier’s second-leading scorer, trailing just behind Zach Freemantle, who averaged 16.8 points per game.

For his efforts, Conwell was named an All-Big East Third-Team selection. He had his best game of the season in Xavier’s narrow 89-87 loss to Marquette in the Big East Tournament quarterfinals. In the loss, Conwell erupted for 38 points, three rebounds, and three assists while shooting 13-18 from the field and 7-11 from beyond the arc.

Multiple other schools were chasing after Conwell before Lousville ultimately won out. Following Miller to Austin was an easy thought to have regarding a potential next destination. Texas has already landed a former Xavier player, grabbing Dailyn Swain.

Instead, Kelsey comes and swoops in for Conwell in what appears to be a drama-free recruitment. The Cardinals are heading into their second season with Kelsey in charge. Year 1 certainly exceeded expectations and now, Louisville is hoping to take another jump in 2025-26.

Conwell will join Adrian Wooley from Kennesaw State as transfer portal acquisitions thus far for Louisville. While team rankings have yet to be formalized, you have to imagine that Kelsey’s bunch will be right up there in the near future.

Not many classes are going to have quality guys like Conwell and Wooley at the top. And the scary part for the rest of the ACC — you know Louisville is not done adding to his roster yet.

On3’s Grant Grubbs contributed to this report