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Wisconsin Women’s Basketball May 2024 Recruiting Update: Part One

The Badgers have dished out some new offers to rising prospects.

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3 weeks ago

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Wisconsin women's basketball coach Marisa Moseley
Wisconsin coach Marisa Moseley coaches her team during its WNIT quarterfinal game against Saint Louis at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin on Monday April 1, 2024.

During the recent live period the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball coaching staff was on the road scouting the top high school players in the country and I wanted to compile some information on the players that they ended up offering. This is part one of this little series because more players keep announcing offers from Marisa Moseley and I didn’t want to keep adding to one post tbqh.

First up: we’ve got a local player who hasn’t even played a high school game yet; a recent de-commit in the 2025 class; and a pair of intriguing wings that would improve UW’s offensive attack.

Nyajuacni Riak, 6-foot-2, G/F

  • Offers from: DePaul, Green Bay, Marquette, Michigan, Michigan State, Minnesota
  • Year: 2028
  • High school: Madison (Wis.) LaFollette
  • AAU team: Purple Aces (Wisconsin)

If you were doing some mental math upon seeing “class of 2028,” don’t worry…you aren’t alone. Riak is a rising high school freshman and will be attending LaFollette in the fall, but that didn’t stop Marisa Moseley from extending a scholarship offer back in November when Riak was just settling into eighth grade. While the other players listed in this post were recently offered by the Badgers, I bring Riak up now because she has had an excellent live period and racked up a handful of high-major offers.

There is clearly a lot to like about Riak’s game, and being the leading scorer a few weeks ago at the Prep Girls Hoops event in Wisconsin for the 16U division is outstanding, but it is nearly impossible to properly evaluate an eighth grader and what she’ll look like in four years.

However, Brady Peterson (the Prep Girls Hoops writer for Wisconsin whose opinion I value) is high on her already and called her “as talented as they come” and noted that he “can’t speak highly enough” of her after her showing at the PGH Champions Challenge. She has a smoothness to her ball-handling that players many years her senior do not possess and her potential playmaking chops as a jumbo-sized creator are tantalizing to say the least. There is a ton of stuff (her shot mechanics need to be fixed for one) she can work on too, but she’ll have plenty of time since she has all four years of high school remaining before heading off to college.

As a Madison resident, it is paramount that Wisconsin and Moseley put the full-court press on her and really push the “hometown hero” angle. The Badgers were the first to offer her and will have the most chances to see her play, so hopefully they can make inroads before any blue bloods start sniffing around.

Ashlyn Koupal, 6-foot-3, W/F

  • Offers from: UNC, Colorado, South Dakota State, Arkansas, TCU, Ga. Tech, Alabama, Utah, Minnesota, Kansas, Iowa State, Miami (Ohio), Indiana, Nebraska, North Dakota State, Colorado State, Creighton, South Dakota
  • Year: 2026
  • High school: Wagner (S.D.) High School
  • AAU team: Sanford (S.D.) Basketball Academy

Multiple time (won as a 7th and 8th grader then as a freshman and sophomore) state high jump champion; plays volleyball too; mom played basketball at South Dakota; first team all-state (freshman and sophomore); she averaged a double-double at 21.3 points and 11.5 rebounds to go with 3.9 assists, four blocks and 1.9 steals per game as a sophomore. She recorded 11 double-doubles and three triple-doubles as a sophomore; during her freshman season she scored 22 ppg and almost seven boards per game while leading her team to a state title.

For a player as tall as she is, Koupal has a solid handle and shows good court vision too. Her range extends out to the three-point line, but she’ll need to prove she can consistently score against players that are her size or taller. With two more years of AAU ball she’ll have plenty of chances to do so and plenty of big name schools are already in on her recruitment which leads me to believe that coaches think her game will translate.

Reese Beaty, 5-foot-8, PG

  • Offers from: Marquette, Pitt, Arkansas, Mizzou, Mississippi State, Iowa State, Michigan, Penn State, Penn, FAU, Tennessee Tech, Belmont, Murray State, USI, UNCW, Kent State, TCU, among others
  • De-committed: Clemson (3/13/24) after coaching change
  • Year: 2025
  • High school: York Institute (Tenn.)
  • AAU team: Kentucky Premier

Beaty is my favorite type of point guard. She has a tight handle, can make any pass on the court, and is able to get hers when her team needs a bucket. Clemson’s loss is going to be someone else’s BIG gain and Wisconsin can offer her immediate playing time once Ronnie Porter graduates. Despite her slight stature, Beaty is strong. She has won the last three Tennessee state shot put titles (her older sister won the one before that) and the last two discus state titles. She averaged 17.4 points, 6.5 rebounds, 3.1 assists and 2.2 steals per game last year.

Libby Fandel, 6-foot-0, G/F

  • Offers from: Virginia Tech, Creighton, Marquette, BYU, Murray State, Illinois State, South Dakota State, South Dakota, Drake
  • Year: 2025
  • High school: Xavier HS (Iowa)
  • AAU team: All Iowa Attack

Fandel is starting to pick up steam on the recruiting trail and after looking at her stats from last season it’s pretty easy to see why. She averaged 24.4 points, 9.2 rebounds, 3.6 assists, and 4.0 steals per game as a junior while being named to multiple all-state teams, winning the Cedar Rapids Girls Basketball Player of the Year award, and winning her conference’s Athlete of the Year award, which I think is across all sports. She is a state champion in basketball and volleyball. Shot is smooth and repeatable but her release is too low and will get blocked in college. Watching her move without the ball is a quick lesson in how to get yourself open and set your teammates up to get a lot of assists. I like Fandel’s driving ability too. She isn’t afraid of contact and can make shots off movement without sacrificing her shooting motion.

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Drew Hamm is a seasoned sports journalist with an extensive background in covering the Wisconsin Badgers. He has previously held positions as the site manager at Bucky's 5th Quarter and founder of Badgers Ball Knower. Currently, he contributes as a staff writer for BadgerNotes.com.

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