Report: Louisville Forward Kasean Pryor Out for Season-Opener

While Kasean Pryor is very close to returning to action, he won't be quite ready to go when the 2025-26 officially tips off next week.

The Louisville men's basketball forward has already been ruled out for the Cardinals' season-opener against South Carolina State on Nov. 3, according to The Field of 68's Jeff Goodman.

The 6-foot-10, 230-pound stretch forward was recently cleared after tearing his ACL last November, and even expressed optimism earlier this summer that he "will be ready" for the start of the 2025-26 season. That being said, head coach Pat Kelsey said during the program's annual media day earlier this month that he did not want to rush Pryor back.

"When that time comes, it will come," Kelsey said. "We don't want to rush it. We want him to come back when he is fully healthy. Once you are fully healthy, it takes time to get back in rhythm after not playing for the better part of a year. I'm excited about where he's at and how he's working."

Pryor joined the program last offseason as a transfer from South Florida, and was expected to be one of the top contributors on the team. However, he wound up missing most of the 2024-25 season, suffering a season-ending ACL tear in his left knee on Nov. 29 in the Battle 4 Atlantis title game vs. Oklahoma.

While Pryor had a bit of trouble finding his shooting stroke last season, he still averaged 12.0 points and 6.1 rebounds in his seven games and three starts last year. He had the opportunity to return due to the Diego Pavia ruling, and he announced back in late April that he would indeed be running it back with the Cardinals.

The season before with USF, Pryor was the Bulls' third-leading scorer at 13.0 points per game, while also pulling down a team-best 7.9 rebounds. He also averaged 1.8 assists, shot 44.7/35.2/81.5 for the season, and logged 12 double-doubles.

The Chicago, Ill. native played his first two seasons at Boise State, then spent his junior year at Northwest Florida State. There, he started all 35 games, averaging 14.8 points, 8.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks per game.