Alvaro Folgueiras has committed to Louisville out of the NCAA transfer portal , On3's Joe Tipton has learned. Folgueiras will make his way to the Cardinals via the Iowa Hawkeyes . Head coach Pat Kelsey has been incredibly active on the open market already this offseason. Making an addition like Folgueiras only adds to the quality heading to Louisville for the 2026-2027 season.
This will be the third school of Folgueiras' career, likely having just one year of eligibility remaining. Folgueiras started out at Robert Morris and turned into one of the league's best players. The Horizon named him the Player of the Year for the 2024-2025 season. This came after averaging 14.1 points and 9.1 rebounds, while shooting 54.8% from the field and over 40% from three.
Entering the transfer portal last offseason brought a slew of offers. In the end, Iowa won out, and new head coach Ben McCollum saw the investment pay off. Folgueiras was a key piece for the Hawkeyes coming off the bench, adding 8.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. But it's in the NCAA Tournament where the numbers really showed up.
Folgueiras was in double-figures in three of Iowa's four March Madness games. Clemson and Florida watched him score 14 points, while Nebraska gave up 16 during the Sweet Sixteen matchup.
"She coming back after two years and seeing where I am right now, and how much I worked to be where I am right now, for her, it's a great feeling because she sent a 16-year-old kid to America without knowing any English," Folgueiras said of his mother, who was in attendance for the Nebraska game. "Without anything but dreams and hunger. And this one is for her and my dad. He's watching up there."
At the time of his commitment, Folgueiras was the No. 54 player to enter this cycle, per the On3 Industry Transfer Portal Rankings . He comes in at No. 13 when just looking at the small forward position. Certainly a quality add for Louisville.
Which has quickly become a recurring theme. Kelsey is putting together quite a group for his third season at Louisville. The Cardinals made some postseason progress by winning an NCAA Tournament game this year. But the standards are only growing and at some point, a run is going to be expected. Maybe it's with the players Kelsey is acquiring for Louisville ahead of the '26-27 season. Folgueiras figures to play a key role.
