Louisville Officially Signs Guard Koren Johnson

Johnson is the sixth newcomer to be officially announced by the Cardinals.

Mar 7, 2024; Pullman, Washington, USA; Washington Huskies guard Koren Johnson (0) / James Snook-USA TODAY Sports

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - The Louisville men's basketball program has officially signed former Washington guard Koren Johnson, the program announced Wednesday.

Johnson is the sixth of 13 newcomers for the 2024-25 season to be officially announced by the Cardinals, and second today following center Aly Khalifa. Guard Reyne Scott, center James Scott, guard/forward Terrence Edwards Jr. and guard J'Vonne Hadley were all officially signed on Tuesday.

"Koren is an electric athlete," head coach Pat Kelsey said in a statement. "A natural scorer, he also has the ability to alter the game in a flash with his defensive instincts. He can take over a game on any given night and can do so in a variety of ways. Highly respected by the coaches of the Pac-12, he was deservedly named conference 6th Man of the Year."

The 6-foot-2, 175-pound shooting guard spent the first two years of his collegiate career in Washington, and is coming off of his best season after earning Pac-12 Sixth Player of the Year honors. Johnson averaged 11.1 points, 2.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds and 1.2 steals over 31 games and five starts, while also shooting 44.1 percent from the field and 37.3 percent on three-point attempts.

The Seattle native was a four-star prospect coming out of high school, and ranked as the No. 17 combo guard and No. 132 prospect in the Class of 2022 by the 247Sports Composite. In his freshman year for the Huskies, he averaged 6.8 points and 1.8 assists over 29 appearances all off the bench.

Not long after the end of Louisville's disastrous 2023-24 campaign, one which resulted in the firing of second-year head coach Kenny Payne, the Cardinals' roster began to flip. All 12 of Louisville's scholarship players entered the portal, with only walk-on guard Aidan McCool in line to return.

Fortunately, Kelsey has done a fantastic job of roster construction since his hiring on Mar. 28, bringing in 12 Division I transfers and one high school prospect. Their transfer portal class ranks No. 1 in the nation, according to On3.

(Photo of Koren Johnson: James Snook - USA TODAY Sports)

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