The Wisconsin football program has added another homegrown piece to its 2027 recruiting class.

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Pewaukee offensive lineman Jack Tabbert announced his commitment to Wisconsin, flipping from North Dakota State and giving offensive line coach Eric Mateos yet another in-state addition as the Badgers continue building one of the most Wisconsin-heavy classes in recent memory.

“🔴⚪️IM HOME⚪️🔴 🦡🦡🦡,” Tabbert wrote.

With Tabbert now in the fold, Wisconsin has secured commitments from 10 in-state prospects in the 2027 cycle. Specifically along the offensive line, Tabbert joins Cole Reiter, Ethan McIntosh, and twins Hunter and Reece Mallinger, giving Mateos five offensive line commitments and further reinforcing the staff’s emphasis on keeping top local talent home.

“The Wall is up around this state, and I’ll die to keep it that way 🦡💪🏼,” Mateos wrote on social media following the commitment.

For a coaching staff that has consistently preached the importance of winning recruiting battles inside Wisconsin, this one also fits the vision.

Tabbert wasn’t originally expected to end up in Madison. North Dakota State identified Tabbert early, extending a first scholarship offer in January before eventually securing his commitment in March. But after camping with Wisconsin’s staff, the Badgers entered the picture with a late scholarship offer, quickly changing the trajectory of his recruitment.

The opportunity to stay home ultimately proved difficult to pass up.

“After a new opportunity has arose and some careful consideration, I have decided to decommit from North Dakota State University,” Tabbert wrote. “I am extremely grateful for all the coaches and staff that believed in me, invested their time in me, and gave me the opportunity.”

Standing at roughly 6-foot-5 and 275 pounds, Tabbert projects as an interior offensive lineman at the next level. He has spent time at multiple positions during his high school career, but his future likely lies at center or guard. That’s where Wisconsin believes Tabbert’s combination of size, toughness, and movement skills can be maximized over time.

Turn on the HUDL film, and one thing stands out immediately: he plays with an edge.

Tabbert consistently looks to finish blocks, moves well in space for a player his size, and shows the type of physical demeanor offensive line coaches love to build around. Whether pulling across the formation or working to the second level, he plays with a level of aggression that fits the identity Wisconsin has traditionally sought along the offensive front.

The unranked lineman’s offer list may not carry the same national headlines as some of Wisconsin’s recent commitments. That said, programs such as FAU, Northern Illinois, Central Michigan, New Mexico State, South Dakota, Liberty, Yale, and Harvard all saw enough to extend scholarships. That doesn’t diminish the importance of the addition.

Wisconsin has historically built its best teams around strong offensive line play. The Badgers believe Tabbert has the traits, work ethic, and upside to continue that tradition alongside a talented in-state group that the staff hopes to develop, retain, and grow together over time.

And as the 2027 class continues to grow, Wisconsin’s message remains clear: if the Badgers want to get back to Big Ten relevance and compete for championships, protecting the borders of their own state still matters.

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The University of Wisconsin football program added another piece to its growing 2027 recruiting class when Chicago-area edge defender Darin Graham announced his commitment to Luke Fickell and the Badgers.

“Blessed to announce my commitment to Wisconsin ALL GLORY TO GOD!” Graham wrote.

For Wisconsin, this one feels particularly significant because the Badgers had to beat out a handful of serious contenders to get it done.

Graham entered the summer with Wisconsin, Ole Miss, and Georgia Tech sitting at the top of his recruitment after narrowing his scholarship list to include Kentucky, Purdue, Minnesota, and several other Power Four programs. But shortly after Graham’s official visit to Madison, the Mount Carmel standout ultimately decided that the Badgers were the right fit.

That decision gives Wisconsin another addition from one of the Midwest’s premier high school football programs. Mount Carmel has produced Power Four talent for decades, including current Badgers running back Darrion Dupree. Notably, Graham has helped the Caravan capture two state championships while earning CCL Blue All-Conference honors as a junior.

The physical traits are what initially jump off the page.

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The Wisconsin football program’s recruiting momentum from its first official visit weekend has carried directly into its second.

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This time, the Badgers staff reached into Big Sky country and landed a verbal commitment from Montana’s top-ranked prospect in the 2027 cycle when Great Falls standout Steele Harris announced his pledge to Luke Fickell and Wisconsin following his official visit to Madison.

“Let’s Work,” Harris wrote.

For a program looking to add more size, speed, and playmaking ability on the perimeter, Harris checks a lot of boxes.

At 6-foot-3 and 190 pounds, Harris arrives with the frame of a Power Four receiver and the athletic profile to match. Several schools recruited him as an athlete, but Wisconsin thinks wide receiver is the best long-term fit. The combination of length, ball skills, and versatility made him one of the more intriguing receiver targets on Wisconsin’s board in this cycle.

And when you look at the production, it isn’t hard to understand why.

During his junior season at Great Falls High School, Harris hauled in 42 receptions for 781 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging nearly 19 yards per catch. He also carried the ball 40 times for 460 yards and five scores, giving his coaching staff another weapon to deploy offensively.

But Harris wasn’t finished there.

Defensively, he added 52 tackles, nine tackles for loss, five sacks, an interception, and a forced fumble, showcasing the type of all-around athleticism that has made him one of Montana’s most coveted prospects.

That versatility is a recurring theme throughout his evaluation.

Turn on the HUDL film, and you’ll see a player who can win in multiple ways. Harris has enough speed to stretch defenses vertically, enough size to win contested catches, and enough athleticism after the catch to create explosive plays. His track background only reinforces what shows up on tape, where he routinely pulls away from defenders in the open field.

There’s also a strong football pedigree behind the prospect.

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The Wisconsin football program has spent much of the summer turning priority recruiting targets into commitments. On Saturday, the Badgers may have landed their most impressive defensive recruiting victory yet.

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Composite three-star defensive lineman Yahzeen Zion out of Goodyear (AZ.) announced his commitment to Wisconsin following his official visit to Madison, choosing the Badgers over Oklahoma and LSU despite holding scholarship offers from many of the nation’s premier programs.

“This is home,” Zion wrote.

And for Wisconsin, that’s a statement worth paying attention to.

The 6-foot-5, 270-pound defender isn’t the type of prospect Wisconsin routinely wins head-to-head battles for. Zion’s offer sheet included LSU, Oklahoma, Florida, Miami, Texas A&M, Penn State, USC, Oregon, Washington, UCLA, and several others. His recruitment had become increasingly national in scope, with additional official visits planned to Oklahoma and LSU before he ultimately decided he had seen enough.

Wisconsin’s staff made sure of that.

Outside linebackers coach Matt Mitchell and defensive line coach E.J. Whitlow teamed up throughout the recruitment, reflecting just how unique Zion’s skill set is. Depending on the situation, he can line up as a traditional defensive lineman, reduce inside, or operate off the edge.

That’s part of what makes him so intriguing.

While Zion is already physically imposing, his background as a basketball player shows up throughout his HUDL film. He moves differently than most players his size. There is looseness in his hips, explosiveness off the ball, and an ability to change direction that helps explain why coaches believe his best football remains ahead of him.

The production isn’t bad either.

During his junior season at Desert Edge High School, Zion recorded 57 tackles, 15.5 tackles for loss, four sacks, and two forced fumbles while consistently creating disruption in opposing backfields. But his evaluation has always been about more than statistics. Wisconsin is betting on traits.

The Badgers have made a concerted effort to add more length, athleticism, and positional flexibility across the defensive front. Zion fits that profile perfectly. He has the frame to continue adding strength, the movement skills to play multiple roles, and the upside to develop into the type of impact defender every program in the country is searching for.

His commitment also strengthens an increasingly impressive Arizona pipeline for Wisconsin in the 2027 class. Zion joins fellow Desert Edge standout Nathan Jones and four-star wide receiver Jai Jones, giving the Badgers three notable commitments from Arizona as the staff continues expanding its recruiting footprint in the Southwest.

And as Wisconsin continues stacking commitments coming out of official visit season, this one stands out. The Badgers didn’t just land another talented defensive recruit. They beat some of college football’s biggest brands for a player they believe has the tools to become a difference-maker.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program has landed its first commitment in the 2027 recruiting class.

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And it didn’t have to go very far to find him.

Four-star guard Jalen Brown, one of the top players in the state of Wisconsin and a longtime priority target for Greg Gard and his staff, announced his commitment to the Badgers following a visit to Madison.

“Ain’t nothing like a hometown hero, right?” Brown wrote.

The timing is notable.

With roster construction in today’s college basketball landscape increasingly centered around the transfer portal, high school recruiting no longer carries quite the same weight that it once did. But Wisconsin has remained committed to building much of its program the traditional way, identifying core pieces early, developing them internally over time, and supplementing the roster through the portal when necessary.

Brown fits that vision perfectly.

The Wauwatosa West standout is a player Wisconsin has tracked for years. After offering him following an advanced camp performance in the summer of 2025, the Badgers never really backed off. Multiple visits followed, relationships with Gard and Sharif Chambliss continued to strengthen, and coming out of another portal cycle, the Badgers made it clear Brown remained one of their top priorities in the 2027 class.

Now they have him.

At 6-foot-4 and roughly 180 pounds, Brown brings the type of size, athleticism, and versatility that has become increasingly valuable in modern basketball. He can handle the ball, create offense for teammates, score at all three levels, and defend multiple positions.

The production speaks for itself.

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The Wisconsin football program landed one of its biggest recruiting wins of the 2027 cycle.

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Fresh off an official visit to Madison, four-star safety Mekhi Williams announced his verbal commitment to Luke Fickell and the Badgers, giving Wisconsin its highest-ranked defensive commitment in the class.

For a program that has made major strides on the recruiting trail this spring and summer while putting together this class, landing a prospect of Williams’ caliber feels like a different caliber of recruiting win.

Williams isn’t just another addition to the class. He’s the type of prospect Wisconsin has historically had to battle national programs for — and rarely won. The Florida native had been committed to Florida State since March of 2025, but reopened his recruitment shortly after visiting. Once that happened, the momentum shifted quickly, and it didn’t take long for recruiting analysts to begin projecting the Badgers as the team to beat.

“This decision wasn’t easy, but God has a plan for me and I know this is the best decision for myself,” Williams wrote. “Thank you God for the opportunity and I just wanna thank you in advance! I just wanna thank all the coaches for the opportunity to be a part of your program.

“After careful consideration, and a long talk with my family, I have decided to decommit and will not be attending Florida State. I truly appreciate the time, effort, and support you have shown me throughout the process. I wish the program success. Thanks again to the coaches for everything!”

A few days later, Williams made it official. And from a pure talent standpoint, it’s easy to understand why Wisconsin pushed so hard.

At roughly 6-foot-3 and 165 pounds, Williams possesses the type of length, athleticism, and range that defensive coordinators spend years searching for in the secondary. A standout track athlete, Williams brings verified speed and movement skills that show up all over his film. Whether he’s patrolling the deep middle, matching receivers in coverage, or driving downhill toward the football, Williams can cover ground in a hurry.

The production matches the traits.

Through three varsity seasons at Lennard High School, Williams recorded 74 tackles, 10 interceptions, and 10 pass breakups. As a junior, the Florida native registered 33 tackles, four pass breakups, and two interceptions, showcasing the ball skills that have made him such a coveted recruit.

Turn on the tape, and one thing becomes clear almost immediately: Williams finds the football. He tracks passes naturally, plays comfortably in space, and consistently puts himself in position to create takeaways.

There is still plenty of physical development ahead as he continues filling out his frame, but the upside is significant. That part of the equation will eventually fall on director of strength and conditioning Brady Collins and his staff once Williams joins the program.

While recruiting services view him as one of the nation’s top safety prospects in Florida, Wisconsin envisions Williams at cornerback, where his length and athletic traits could allow him to thrive on the perimeter. Defensive backs coach Paul Haynes and safeties coach Robert Steeples, who served as the lead recruiter, played key roles in bringing that vision to life throughout the recruiting process.

The commitment also represents another major recruiting victory for a class that continues gaining momentum.

Wisconsin entered its first official visit weekend with 13 commitments already in the fold and a strong in-state foundation well established. Since then, the Badgers have turned that momentum into results, landing commitments from four-star wide receiver Jai Jones, linebacker Nathan Jones, defensive back Royalton Allen, and now Williams.

From a roster-building standpoint, it’s a home-run fit. Wisconsin has made a clear effort to add more length, speed, and playmaking ability to the secondary. Williams checks all three boxes while giving the Badgers another player who could develop into an impact defender in the Big Ten.

More importantly, his commitment serves as another signal that Wisconsin’s recruiting ambitions have changed. Landing a top Florida prospect who was once committed to Florida State isn’t the type of victory the Badgers have consistently secured in the past. But it’s exactly the type of win that Fickell’s staff believes it must stack if they’re going to climb back into contention and get the program back on track.

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The University of Wisconsin football program continues to stack recruiting wins coming out of a pivotal stretch of official visits.

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This time, the Badgers landed a verbal commitment from three-star California defensive back Royalton Allen, a versatile two-way standout from Oak Hills High School who announced his pledge to Luke Fickell and Wisconsin shortly after wrapping up his official visit to Madison.

“Home sweet home 🦡,” Allen wrote.

Allen becomes another notable addition to Wisconsin’s 2027 recruiting class and gives the Badgers a prospect with the type of athletic versatility coaches covet in today’s game. He also joins four-star wide receiver Jai Jones and linebacker Nathan Jones as players who verbally committed to the coaching staff following the program’s first official visit weekend.

The 6-foot, 175-pound athlete is expected to begin his career on defense, where Wisconsin views him as a defensive back with the range, physicality, and coverage ability to develop into a multi-year contributor. But part of what makes Allen intriguing is that he has spent much of his high school career impacting games on both sides of the football.

Whether lining up at receiver, cornerback, or safety, Allen consistently found ways to make plays. During his junior season, he posted 34 total tackles and three interceptions across nine games on defense.

When you turn on the HUDL film, the athletic traits become obvious.

Allen is a fluid mover with good closing speed, natural ball skills, and the kind of competitive edge that allows him to play bigger than his listed size. There is a physical element to his game that shows up both as a tackler and when making plays on the ball in coverage. Those athletic traits helped Allen emerge as such a highly sought-after defensive back.

Wisconsin wasn’t alone in pursuing him.

Allen held scholarship offers from programs such as Colorado State, BYU, Auburn, Arkansas, Ole Miss, USC, Vanderbilt, Utah, Arizona State, North Carolina, and Georgia, among others. He was previously committed to UCLA before reopening his recruitment in Dec. 2025 following coaching changes, creating an opportunity that Wisconsin’s staff capitalized on.

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The Wisconsin football program's biggest official visit weekend of the summer continues to pay dividends on the recruiting trail.

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Following his official visit to Madison, composite three-star linebacker Nathan Jones out of Goodyear (AZ.) announced his verbal commitment to head coach Luke Fickell and the Badgers, giving Wisconsin another talented piece to develop in the front seven in its 2027 recruiting class.

“Committed. #AGTG #OnWisconsin,” Jones wrote.

And unlike some prospects whose evaluations begin with projection, Jones arrives with a résumé built on production.

Over the past two seasons, the 6-foot-3, 230-pound linebacker has been one of the more disruptive defensive players in Arizona. As a junior at Desert Edge High School, Jones recorded 90 total tackles (65 solo), 25 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks, four forced fumbles, and an interception.

That’s not accidental production. Those numbers belong to a player who spends a lot of time in the backfield.

And because Jones apparently wasn’t busy enough on defense, he also contributed offensively with 494 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 49 carries, further illustrating the athleticism that makes him intriguing.

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The University of Wisconsin football program appears to have found its next architect behind the scenes.

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According to a report from ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Wisconsin is expected to hire longtime NFL personnel executive Morocco Brown as the program’s next general manager, bringing more than two decades of scouting and personnel experience to Madison.

And in many ways, the timing makes sense.

When former Wisconsin athletic director Chris McIntosh accepted a position with the Big Ten, former Badgers football general manager Marcus Sedberry stepped into the role of interim athletic director.

That move created a significant opening within the Badgers’ football operation and left head coach Luke Fickell searching for someone capable of navigating an increasingly complicated era of roster management.

“The biggest thing for us right now is obviously Marcus Sedberry and what he has to do in his role,” Fickell said. “There are some decisions we’re going to have to make moving forward regarding what direction we can go, based on what they’re going to do and what he’s going to do.

“Other than that, I think, selfishly speaking, it’s a decent time for us because we’re locked in through all the recruiting and portal work for this season. Now, obviously, recruiting for the following year never stops, but at least we’re in a place where the focus can be on spring football.”

Enter Brown.

The veteran personnel executive arrives with one of the most extensive NFL résumés Wisconsin has brought into the program during the Fickell era. Brown most recently served as Chief Personnel Executive for the Indianapolis Colts, where he spent nearly a decade helping oversee scouting, draft preparation, roster construction, and player evaluation.

Before that, Brown held personnel leadership roles with the Chicago Bears, Washington Commanders, and Cleveland Browns. His NFL career spans more than 25 years and includes experience evaluating both pro and collegiate talent at virtually every level of the scouting process.

That background is what makes this hire particularly interesting.

The role of a college football general manager barely existed a decade ago, at least not anything like its current function. Modern-day front-office decision-makers sit at the center of roster construction. Between managing funds, navigating the transfer portal, NIL negotiations, scholarship management, and high school recruiting evaluations, building a roster increasingly resembles running a professional franchise.

Wisconsin’s decision to target someone with Brown’s background signals a continued push toward professionalizing the football operation.

Brown’s reputation throughout NFL circles has long centered on talent identification and scouting infrastructure. During his time in Indianapolis, Brown played a role in evaluating and acquiring players such as Quenton Nelson, Jonathan Taylor, Michael Pittman Jr., and Darius Leonard. He also interviewed for multiple NFL general manager positions during his career, further underscoring the respect he commands throughout the league.

The one adjustment will be the college side of the equation.

While Brown’s evaluation credentials are difficult to question, managing a college roster in 2026 requires balancing recruiting, NIL, retention, and portal acquisition simultaneously. That environment differs from the traditional NFL personnel model he spent most of his career navigating.

There are very few guardrails in today’s college football landscape. It’s become quite clear that not every program is operating with the same financial resources, and deciding where those resources are allocated year after year — while still building and sustaining a healthy locker room culture has become one of the most difficult balancing acts in the sport.

Still, it’s easy to understand why Fickell and Wisconsin were attracted to the profile.

Brown also arrives at a pivotal moment for the program. Wisconsin is coming off a disappointing 4-8 season, and with Fickell entering Year 4 of his tenure, the pressure to produce results on the field is only increasing.

The Badgers have invested heavily in modernizing the football program over the past several years. Hiring a respected NFL talent evaluator with decades of personnel experience represents another step in that process.

As Wisconsin continues searching for ways to close the gap within the Big Ten, Brown now becomes one of the most important personnel additions to the program’s future — even if his work takes place behind the scenes.

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The Wisconsin football staff entered its first major official visit weekend of the summer looking to turn recruiting momentum into commitments.

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It didn’t take long.

Four-star wide receiver Jai Jones out of Chandler (AZ.) announced his verbal commitment to Luke Fickell and the Badgers following his visit to Madison. With Jones in the fold, he becomes one of Wisconsin’s highest-rated prospects in the 2027 recruiting class and provides new wide receivers coach Ari Confesor with his first commitment at the position.

That part matters.

When Confesor joined the coaching staff, he inherited a wide receiver room that had already been heavily rebuilt through the transfer portal. One of his top priorities was helping create stability at the position while continuing to add long-term pieces through high school recruiting.

So, landing a blue-chip recruit like Jones during his first official visit weekend is an encouraging early sign for the direction that Wisconsin’s staff hopes to take the position group moving forward. Simply put, they need better talent and high-end athletes to compete in the Big Ten.

And this wasn’t a recruitment that developed overnight.

Wisconsin offered Jones back in January and quietly made the Chandler High School standout one of its top priorities on offense. The Badgers stayed involved throughout the process and ultimately beat out finalists Arizona and Cal for the talented pass catcher, while holding off a lengthy offer list that included Indiana, Oregon, Nebraska, Washington, Utah, Missouri, Kansas State, Iowa, and Arizona State, among several others.

The production alone was enough to get attention.

As a junior at Chandler High School, Jones hauled in 54 receptions for 922 yards and 10 touchdowns while averaging more than 17 yards per catch. But the numbers only tell part of the story.

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The Wisconsin football program will be moving forward without one of the running backs it signed in the 2026 recruiting class.

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Composite 3-star recruit Qwantavius Wiggins has been released from his National Letter of Intent and will no longer join the Badgers this summer, instead announcing his commitment to Georgia State.

“COMMITTED & SIGNED,” Wiggins wrote. “The city raised me. Now it’s time to represent it. 100% committed to Georgia State University!”

The development closes the door on a Wisconsin signee who never even reached the point of enrollment or integration into the program.

Wiggins originally committed to FIU before flipping to Wisconsin in November of 2025 after building a strong relationship with then-running backs coach Devon Spalding and a few other members of the Badgers coaching staff. At the time, Wisconsin viewed Wiggins as one of the more explosive running back prospects available late in the cycle.

And it wasn’t difficult to understand why.

Playing for Langston Hughes High School in Georgia, Wiggins rushed for 1,003 yards and 12 touchdowns as a senior while sharing carries in a talented backfield that also featured 4-star Texas A&M signee Casyn Baker. Despite splitting carries, the senior tailback still averaged 9.0 yards per carry and also added six catches for 125 yards receiving.

The speed consistently stood out on film.

Wiggins possessed the ability to erase angles in the open field and create explosive plays whenever he touched the football, making him a somewhat different stylistic fit from several of the backs Wisconsin already had on the roster. That was something head coach Luke Fickell emphasized when the Badgers originally signed him back in December.

“He plays some really good ball,” Fickell said of Wiggins on National Signing Day.

“He plays at a really high level. Plays the best ball in Georgia. He can run now. He’s got speed. He’s a splash guy. I think he’s different than the guys we’ve got in the program.”

Ultimately, though, Wiggins never made it to campus.

The 5-foot-11, 200-pound running back did not enroll at Wisconsin, and with Spalding departing the program earlier this year for Michigan State, the circumstances surrounding his recruitment changed considerably from when he initially signed with the Badgers.

Since then, Wisconsin’s running back room has undergone significant changes of its own.

Position coach Jayden Everett inherited a running back room that needed a facelift and responded by adding transfer portal options such as Abu Sama, Bryan Jackson, Nate Palmer, and, more recently, JUCO standout Julius Pope, while also retaining and building around junior Darrion Dupree, a player this staff identified and recruited out of high school.

For Wisconsin, the move — even if it was expected — means one less scholarship player in the 2026 class. For Wiggins, it provides an opportunity to remain closer to home and continue his career in Atlanta.

What was originally expected to be a two-running-back class featuring Wiggins and Amari Latimer, who flipped his commitment to West Virginia, will now end with neither prospect ever wearing the Motion W.

While situations like this remain uncommon, Wiggins’ departure serves as a reminder that even signed recruiting classes aren’t truly finalized until prospects arrive on campus and officially become part of the program.

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With the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s offseason calendar starting to hit a bit of a dead period after roster movement, portal decisions, and retention battles dominated the conversation for the past few months, the focus now shifts toward a much more interesting question: what exactly is this team capable of becoming once summer workouts officially begin?

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So for this mailbag, we’re digging into questions surrounding Wisconsin’s roster construction, long-term ceiling, and the balancing act Greg Gard’s program is trying to navigate in the modern NIL era. We’ll talk about which returning players feel primed to take meaningful jumps, whether the Badgers’ Moneyball approach is truly sustainable long term after losing John Blackwell, and how confident I actually am that this roster is capable of getting back to the NCAA Tournament again next season.

Let’s dive in.

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There’s a tendency this time of year across college basketball to reduce roster construction down to a spreadsheet. How much money did you spend? Who did you land? Who did you lose? Did you “win” the portal?

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But listening to general manager Marc VandeWettering talk about the Wisconsin men’s basketball program’s offseason recently during an appearance on Butchie’s Den, it became pretty clear that the Badgers are trying to build something a little more layered than that in Madison.

Not necessarily flashy. Not always headline-driven. But intentional.

“This time of year, through April and May, is a lot of roster construction,” VandeWettering said. “That’s retention, that’s transfer portal, that’s international, and even high school. All can happen within that window there. It’s getting a lot of contracts negotiated. It’s talking to a lot of the agents, visits, Zooms, all the different things are happening at once.

“It’s really just orchestrating behind the scenes and making sure that the coaches can coach, so that I can handle everything else for them.”

And the reality is, Wisconsin’s offseason really did begin with retention.

The Badgers made keeping frontcourt pieces Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp a priority, understanding just how expensive experienced frontcourt players had become in the portal market. From there, the next tier of continuity mattered too, with players like Jack Janicki, Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, and Will Garlock all returning to a locker room that now has enough holdover pieces to teach the culture to the next wave coming in.

That matters more than people think.

“Knowing the capital you have to invest in the team as a whole is key to figuring out the strategy of how you want to disperse it,” VandeWettering said. “There are a lot of different ways to go about this.

“Last year, we went heavy on making sure we had two really good guards, and that worked really well for us. Going into this year, we could see where the transfer market was heading and knew frontcourt pieces in the portal were going to cost a lot. So retaining our frontcourt guys — and retaining them early — became a priority, and we made sure to make that happen.”

Even though college basketball continues to drift toward annual free agency, Wisconsin still, in many ways, resembles what the sport used to look like. There are layers to the roster. Different tiers of expectation. Proven veterans. Developmental pieces. Players expected to help immediately. Others expected to grow into something more over time.

The incoming group reflects that balance.

Portal additions like Eian Elmer, Trey Autry, and Victory Onuetu address immediate needs in the rotation, while the addition of 22-year-old guard Owen Foxwell brings another older, experienced piece to the roster despite not technically arriving through the transfer portal after playing professionally overseas. Meanwhile, incoming freshmen like Jackson Ball, LaTrevion Fenderson, Josh Manchester, and Australian forward Isaac Riddle give the roster some developmental runway moving forward.

And if a few of those younger pieces push beyond the tier they’re currently projected into, the overall floor of this team starts to rise pretty quickly.

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The University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program has officially made its second known scholarship offer in the 2028 recruiting cycle.

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That offer went out to fast-rising Arizona wing Terrance Byrd, who announced the opportunity from Wisconsin shortly after a strong showing on the AAU circuit with Factory AZ at the New Balance P32 event.

Head coach Greg Gard was in attendance at the tournament, evaluating him firsthand. Byrd remains unranked nationally for now, but Wisconsin became the first high-major program to jump in with an offer, joining the Badgers’ first 2028 scholarship offer to in-state prospect, Joey Kohnen.

And the early evaluation makes sense when you turn on the film.

At 6-foot-7, Byrd fits the mold of the modern multi-positional wing that continues to become more valuable across college basketball. He’s long, skilled with the ball in his hands, and plays with the kind of pace and feel that allows him to impact the game in several different ways offensively.

But what stands out most is how comfortable Byrd looks operating as a playmaker at his size. Whether it’s working out of pick-and-roll situations, attacking defenders downhill, making drive-and-kick reads, or creating offense in the midrange, Byrd already flashes a polished offensive skill set for a player entering only his sophomore year of high school basketball. There’s a natural rhythm to the way he plays that jumps off the screen.

And the production backs up the intrigue.

During the 2024-25 season at Highland Prep in Arizona, Byrd averaged 16.8 points, 9.3 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game while also contributing defensively with 1.2 steals and 1.7 blocks per contest, according to MaxPreps.

The statistical profile reflects what the film suggests — a versatile player capable of impacting multiple areas of the game without needing everything built entirely around him. That versatility and skill set are part of why Byrd has started generating more national attention from coaches this summer.

Scouts evaluating the 2028 class have increasingly pointed toward Byrd as one of the more underrated players in the country, particularly because of the combination of size, passing ability, defensive instincts, and shot-creation upside he brings as a big wing. He’s also a multi-sport athlete with a football background, something that often shows up physically in the way Byrd absorbs contact and plays through traffic.

Defensively, there’s upside there too.

Byrd has the length and timing to create disruption around the rim while also moving fluidly enough to project across multiple positions defensively as he continues maturing physically. With a reported wingspan approaching 6-foot-11, the tools are difficult to ignore.

For Wisconsin, the offer also reflects the continued evolution of what the Badgers are prioritizing on the recruiting trail under Gard. The game continues trending toward bigger, more skilled perimeter players capable of handling, passing, and defending multiple positions. And early on in the 2028 cycle, Byrd appears to check quite a few of those major boxes.

At the same time, high school recruiting and the spring and summer evaluation periods no longer carry quite the same weight they once did in an era dominated by the transfer portal and roster turnover.

But Wisconsin still wants to resemble something close to a traditional program by building much of its core and culture internally, which makes identifying the right high school prospects early in the process all the more important — even if the process itself looks very different now.

“Hopefully, we’ll get more stability with multi-year contracts, but right now, we’re evaluating one year at a time,” Gard said at Big Ten Media Days. “How do you build your team? It’s typically from the top down.

“You have to know who your real horses are going to be and where your needs are, then build from there. If you get too young, you’re going to find yourself at the bottom of the ladder looking up really fast.”

This staff has increasingly shifted toward building rosters from the top down, investing heavily in players they believe can immediately impact winning at the highest level. That said, Wisconsin also isn’t afraid to invest in younger prospects they believe can eventually grow into that mold.

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Maybe it’s because the Badgers also signed a two-year SEC starter at safety in former Missouri Tiger Marvin Burks Jr. Maybe it’s because Van Dinter only played 180 defensive snaps last season during his redshirt freshman year at Iowa State, finishing with 18 total tackles, 0.5 tackles for loss, and one pass deflection.

Regardless, the Kaukauna, Wisconsin, native shouldn’t be an afterthought on this team. He may not be positioned for a starting role, but he’s only one injury away. What’s more, head coach Luke Fickell has alluded to the possibility of more exotic looks on defense this fall with three-safety and three-inside linebacker formations.

You’ll see Van Dinter on the field in some capacity this season. And after diving into his All-22 film, there’s a lot to like about his game. Below, BadgerNotes breaks down the tape:

It’s easy to tell what Van Dinter’s (#36) calling card is as soon as you pop on the tape: speed.

Above, Van Dinter is playing field safety, and in case you missed him, he’s the one who flies across the field and makes the tackle.

There’s a lot to like about this rep. Kansas State is trying to set up a perimeter run, but the Cyclones’ defense is very sound in its gap discipline. Just when the back appears to have daylight and turns the corner, Van Dinter flies in to make the stop.

You love the safety’s closing speed and ability to diagnose this play, but the hit he lays down on the tailback is nothing to scoff at either.

“He does like to hit, there’s no doubt about it,” defensive coordinator Mike Tressel said of Van Dinter during spring practice.

Van Dinter’s speed goes hand in hand with his instincts. He’s still learning the intricacies of playing defense — we’ll get there soon — but lots of young players struggle with playing fast and free as their minds overflow with information.

That’s not something you see out of Van Dinter; there are very few wasted steps when he attacks the football:

Even though he’s not the one who winds up making the tackle, Van Dinter blows up this reverse. As soon as Kansas State quarterback Avery Johnson pitches the ball to the receiver, he explodes out of his stance and is the first one in the backfield.

This rep is also a great representation of where Van Dinter is in his development. His natural ability allows him to fly into the backfield, but he’s not yet a complete player; Wildcats wideout Jace Brown gives him a nice dead-leg and manages to break the tackle.

However, that’s not to say Van Dinter was a liability as a tackler; in fact, that was one of his stronger traits on tape:

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For a lot of Wisconsin men’s basketball fans, Sam Dekker will always be remembered as the hometown hero who helped carry the Badgers to back-to-back Final Fours and a national championship appearance.

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Now, more than a decade after arriving in Madison as one of the most decorated recruits in state history, Dekker is returning to the college basketball scene not as a player using a final year of unused eligibility, but as an assistant coach in the SEC under Lamont Paris at South Carolina.

“I couldn’t be more excited to be a part of Gamecock Basketball. I’m so grateful to Coach Paris for trusting me with this role, and I take it very seriously,” Dekker said. “The decision to transition from player to coach is not one I took lightly, but joining Coach Paris and this program was a dream opportunity. I am thrilled to return to the college game and compete at such a high level in the SEC. My 11 years as a pro have provided so many experiences with amazing players, coaches, and styles.

“Some of my best memories as a player were competing in two Final Fours with Coach Paris, and I look forward to doing that with him again. My goal is to win in March and give our players the best opportunity for success on and off the court.”

In a lot of ways, the move feels fitting.

Paris was a longtime assistant coach on Bo Ryan’s staff during Dekker’s entire career at Wisconsin, helping recruit and develop the former five-star prospect from Sheboygan Lutheran High School into one of the faces of one of the greatest stretches in modern program history.

And few players embodied Wisconsin basketball quite like Dekker did during that era.

Across three seasons from 2012-15, Dekker appeared in 113 games with 81 starts for the Badgers while scoring 1,363 career points, which still ranks 15th in program history. The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 12.1 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for his career while steadily developing into one of the Big Ten’s most dangerous and versatile forwards.

By his junior season, Dekker, who earned Second-Team All-Big Ten honors after averaging 13.9 points and 5.5 rebounds, had become one of the driving forces behind Wisconsin’s run to the 2015 national championship game alongside National Player of the Year Frank Kaminsky and a supporting cast that included Nigel Hayes, Bronson Koenig, Josh Gasser, Duje Dukan, Traevon Jackson, and Zak Showalter, among others.

That NCAA Tournament performance remains part of Badgers lore.

Dekker averaged 19.2 points per game during Wisconsin’s Final Four run, including a memorable 27-point performance against Arizona in the Elite Eight featuring the now-iconic dagger three-pointer. He earned West Region Most Outstanding Player honors during that tournament run. He finished his college basketball career as a two-time second-team All-Big Ten selection after also making the conference’s All-Freshman Team.

From there, basketball took him all over the world.

Dekker left school with one year of eligibility remaining, opting to enter the 2015 NBA Draft when his stock was arguably at its highest point following Wisconsin’s run to the national championship game against Duke. He was selected 18th overall by the Houston Rockets and spent parts of five seasons in the NBA with the Rockets, Clippers, Cavaliers, Wizards, and Raptors. Injuries prevented him from ever fully settling into a long-term NBA role, but his professional career hardly stopped there.

Overseas, Dekker carved out a highly successful second chapter.

He became one of the more accomplished American-born forwards playing internationally, earning All-EuroCup honors while helping lead the London Lions to multiple championships and individual MVP awards across Europe and the British Basketball League.

Now, the next chapter begins on the sideline.

Paris pointed directly to Dekker’s winning background, professional experience, and ability to help develop players as reasons for the hire.

And from Dekker’s perspective, returning to the college game alongside someone he already won with at the highest level made the transition feel natural. He’s also stepping into a program led by Paris, who earned SEC Coach of the Year honors in 2024 after leading one of the conference’s biggest turnarounds. However, South Carolina has struggled to maintain that momentum over the past two seasons and is looking to right the ship.

Dekker will also have the chance to coach former Wisconsin forward Aleksas Bieliauskas, who signed with South Carolina this offseason.

“Development of each player’s individual abilities is as important now as it has ever been in college basketball,” Paris said. “Sam’s unique experiences and skill set will allow him to have a tremendous impact on our players and program immediately. He is a winner through and through, and I am thrilled to add him to our staff as an assistant coach.”

For Wisconsin fans, though, it’s another reminder of just how special that era of Badgers basketball truly was — and how many of the figures from those teams continue finding success both on and off the court.

Dekker has spoken about feeling like he stepped away from the game before the game left him, and now he’ll be positioned to make a major impact in a college basketball landscape where leadership, experience, and the ability to connect with players may matter more than ever.

We appreciate you taking the time to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. Your support means the world to us and has helped us become a leading independent source for Wisconsin Badgers coverage.

You can also follow Site Publisher Dillon Graff at @DillonGraff on X.

With the Wisconsin men’s basketball team’s roster now largely in place, the offseason conversation shifts from who’s coming in to what this group can actually become once they begin preparation for next season.

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So, I’ve got a new set of mailbag questions to dig into, and this one leans into how the Badgers roster is built heading into the 2026–27 season.

We’ll get into whether or not the Badgers have enough top-end talent to compete at the top of the Big Ten, how important Owen Foxwell is to making this whole thing work, and where the biggest remaining need sits with one roster spot still open. We’ll also touch on the bigger-picture question of how Wisconsin is navigating the current NIL landscape.

Let’s dive in.

Q: Now that Wisconsin’s roster is mostly in place, what’s your biggest question mark or concern about how this team is built heading into 2026-27?

-Dave in Janesville

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The Wisconsin football program continues to tighten its grip on the in-state recruiting landscape in the 2027 cycle.

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This time, the Badgers flipped one of the state’s top linebacker prospects when Amery (Wis.) standout Keaton Wollan announced his verbal commitment to Luke Fickell and Wisconsin after previously being pledged to Iowa State.

“Staying Home! 🦡,” Wollan wrote.

The move gives Wisconsin its 13th verbal commitment in the 2027 class and, perhaps more importantly, its ninth in-state commitment in the cycle. Wollan’s addition is the latest example of how aggressively the Badgers have prioritized locking down top homegrown talent early in the cycle.

For context, the most in-state signees Wisconsin has taken in a single class came in 2011 under Bret Bielema with 10. However, not every in-state recruiting cycle produces this many Power Four-caliber prospects.

And once Wisconsin officially entered the picture with a scholarship offer for Wollan — despite him holding offers from programs like Iowa State, Texas Tech, and North Dakota State — the momentum shifted quickly.

Wollan had originally committed to Iowa State back in April after building a strong relationship with the Cyclones coaching staff. But Wisconsin inside linebackers coach Tuf Borland, who served as the lead recruiter for the three-star linebacker, continued evaluating the in-state product from a distance before pushing the chips all in this spring to seal the deal.

From a roster-building standpoint, the fit makes plenty of sense.

Standing at roughly 6-foot-3 and 210 pounds, Wollan brings the type of frame and athletic profile that Wisconsin has increasingly leaned toward at linebacker under Fickell’s staff. He’s long, explosive downhill, and plays with a physical edge that shows up immediately on Wollan’s HUDL film.

But the production is what really jumps off the page.

As a junior at Amery High School, Wollan piled up 125 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, four forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries, and three interceptions en route to first-team all-state honors and Middle Border Conference player of the year recognition.

And that was only half the story.

Offensively, the Amery standout also rushed for 932 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground while averaging nearly six yards per carry, giving evaluators another glimpse into the athleticism and instincts that make him such an intriguing linebacker projection long term.

Turn on the film, and the first thing that stands out is how quickly he diagnoses plays. Wollan closes space in a hurry, shoots gaps aggressively against the run, and consistently arrives at contact with bad intentions. There’s also enough fluidity in his movement skills to project comfortably in coverage situations, which matters in this version of the Big Ten.

And in a lot of ways, this commitment says just as much about Wisconsin’s overall recruiting strategy as it does the player itself.

The Badgers have worked hard to build this class around in-state foundations before aggressively expanding nationally ahead of official visit season. Keeping top Wisconsin prospects home remains a major priority for the staff, particularly at developmental positions like linebacker, where continuity, culture fit, and long-term growth matter.

More recently, Wisconsin has started adding national pieces to complement that in-state foundation, including Connecticut defensive lineman Will Zaccagnino, Delaware defensive back DJ Davis, legacy quarterback Jack Sorgi, and Illinois defensive lineman David Hill.

Within that framework, flipping Wollan away from another Power Four program feels like a meaningful win for Wisconsin football as it works to get the program back on track and closer to its historical roots.

We appreciate you taking the time to read our work at BadgerNotes.com. Your support means the world to us and has helped us become a leading independent source for Wisconsin Badgers coverage.

You can also follow Site Publisher Dillon Graff at @DillonGraff on X.

Spring practice is officially in the books for the University of Wisconsin football team, which means the evaluation phase is just getting started.

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I’ve got another round of mailbag questions to work through, and this one leans a little more into where things stand coming out of spring. We’ll get into whether last season’s offensive struggles may have skewed how Wisconsin’s defense was perceived, how much better the quarterback room really looks heading into the fall, and what to make of an overhauled cornerback group that could quietly be one of the most improved units on the roster.

Let’s dive in.

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There’s a business side to roster building in college athletics now, and for the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program, much of what shapes a team happens behind the scenes long before the games begin.

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Retaining players. Managing revenue share. Structuring NIL deals. Navigating agents. Evaluating transfer portal fits. Allocating resources. Determining which players are worth building around and which additions actually complement the roster enough to help impact the bottom line.

That’s all part of the job now.

And as Wisconsin’s staff retooled its roster for the upcoming 2026-27 season, Greg Gard made it clear there has been far more involved in the Badgers process than simply evaluating film and recruiting talent.

The modern portal landscape has often felt like “amateur hour” behind the scenes, with inconsistent rules, varying levels of agent experience, and constant conversations centered around contract structure, revenue sharing, third-party NIL, and payment schedules. Gard acknowledged there are still very few true guardrails in place nationally, which has forced programs like Wisconsin to spend just as much time navigating the business and educational side of roster building as the basketball side.

“There are agents who are really good, who understand this space, are fair and very professional in how they operate,” Gard said on Butchie’s Den. “And then there’s the other side — what I refer to as amateur hour.

“People have jumped into this, and there are no guardrails. We really have no rules in place, and anyone can be involved, so you get a wide variety of experiences. Some just don’t understand how the college NIL landscape works and needs to work in terms of how you can legally pay an athlete.”

That reality is part of why Wisconsin expanded its staff last offseason to more closely resemble a professional front-office model, leaning heavily on general manager Marc VandeWettering throughout the process.

“That’s where Mark has really stepped in, and honestly, it’s been built on the fly,” Gard said while praising VandeWettering’s ability to navigate and communicate through the constantly changing realities of the modern college basketball landscape. “You hate to build an airplane as it’s running down the runway, but that’s kind of what we’ve been doing. He’s done a phenomenal job. I don’t get around the other sports much, but if he’s not the best GM and understanding of it on our campus, I don’t know who is.

“He’s really, really sharp in terms of understanding this new world.”

Wisconsin entered the offseason understanding the challenge ahead.

Yes, the Badgers increased their overall NIL resources from a season ago. But so did much of the conference around them. And while Wisconsin believes it can compete financially, the reality is the program still operates with a budget that sits somewhere in the bottom third of the Big Ten.

That reality has forced Wisconsin to become extremely disciplined in how it approaches roster construction.

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