Five-Star '25 PG Mikel Brown Jr. Commits to Louisville

Brown is a top-ten prospect in the Class of 2025, and the Cardinals' first commitment in the cycle.

Overtime Elite point guard Mikel Brown Jr. / USA Basketball

LOUISVILLE, Ky. - On the first day of the new year, Pat Kelsey and the Louisville men's basketball program have finally landed their first commitment in the Class of 2025 - and it's a big one.

Daytona Beach (Fla.) DME Academy point guard Mikel Brown Jr., a five-star recruit and top-ten prospect in the cycle, announced Wednesday that he has given his verbal pledge to and signed with the Cardinals.

Brown made the announcement at the KFC Yum! Center during a TV timeout in Louisville's game against North Carolina. His commitment video was displayed on the video board, while also making an in-person appearance on the court.

He will join the program for their 2025-26 season, and chose Louisville over held offers from Kentucky, Indiana, Arizona, Alabama, Baylor and others among his 26 total D1 scholarship offers.

Louisville has been heavily recruiting Brown since the summer. He was offered back on June 13, with Kelsey and Co. visiting him at both the Adidas 3SSB circuit and at DME Academy as well. Brown also took an official visit to the Cardinals in September, and paid another visit for their game vs. Duke on Dec. 8.

The 6-foot-3, 165-pound ball handler is a consensus top-three point guard in the 2025 cycle, and ranks as high as the No. 1 point guard in the nation according to Rivals and the No. 7 prospect overall by 247Sports. He's regarded as the No. 10 prospect in the class per the 247Sports Composite.

With a composite rating of 0.9962, Brown is the second-highest rated prospect to ever commit to Louisville in the modern recruiting era. Samardo Samuels' 0.9985 rating in the Class of 2008 holds the top spot.

Playing for the Cold Hearts this past season in the Overtime Elite, Brown put together a solid campaign, putting up 13.4 points, 5.4 assists and 2.1 rebounds per game during the regular season. During the playoffs, he averaged 15.3 points, 6.8 assists and 3.7 rebounds over six games.

Brown carried that momentum from the Overtime Elite playoffs straight into the Adidas 3SSB circuit. Playing for Team Loaded (N.C.), he averaged 23.5 points, 3.4 assists and 3.1 rebounds over 11 games.

Landing Brown a huge recruiting win for Kelsey and Louisville in a vacuum, but it's also a potential watershed moment for the Cardinals and the 2025 class. Louisville has seen multiple priority targets in the cycle commit elsewhere up to this point, such as Shelton Henderson, London Jemison, Jasper Johnson and J.J. Mandaquit.

(Photo of Mikel Brown Jr. via USA Basketball)

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