Tag: Roster

Wisconsin Badgers freshman cornerback enters transfer portal

Another Wisconsin defender enters the transfer portal:

Wisconsin freshman cornerback A.J. Tisdell entered the transfer portal on Friday.

The young corner was a three-star recruit in the program’s class of 2023 and redshirted during his first collegiate season.

Related: Wisconsin football 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker

Tisdell was 247Sports’ No. 796 player in the class of 2023, No. 81 cornerback and No. 124 recruit from his home state of Texas. He initially committed to Paul Chryst’s Wisconsin program in June of 2022 and stayed on once Luke Fickell got the job later that year.

RivalsPortal on X noted that Tisdell recorded 61 tackles and one interception on defense, plus nearly 300 receiving yards on offense in 2022. It should be noted those numbers were from his senior season at College Station High School.

Wisconsin’s coaching staff has prioritized the cornerback position since taking over at the end of the 2022 season. That emphasis has seen several transfers enter, plus a few highly-touted high school recruits. The cornerback room got busy in a hurry, which could’ve led to Tisdell’s departure.

For more on Wisconsin’s transfer portal activity this spring, check out our 2024 spring transfer portal window tracker.

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BREAKING: Former Wisconsin star Chucky Hepburn transfers to an ACC power

Wisconsin G Chucky Hepburn finds his new home:

Former Wisconsin basketball star point guard Chucky Hepburn committed to Louisville on Thursday.

The news comes on the same day Hepburn arrived for an official visit and one week after he surprisingly entered the portal.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

Hepburn brings 103 games of college experience to the Cardinals, plus per-game averages of 32.1 minutes, 9.8 points, 2.8 rebounds, 3.0 assists and 1.6 steals on 42% shooting and 36% from 3.

He joins a Louisville program that hired head coach Pat Kelsey this offseason after firing former head coach Kenny Payne after a terrible 8-24 2023-24 season. The Cardinals have won 25 combined games over the last three years and have not had a winning season since 2020-21.

The fan and booster support still exists, which is what makes the program one of the sport’s powers. It is likely that fan and booster investment helped draw Hepburn in.

Wisconsin, meanwhile, is still in search of its first transfer commitment after losing Hepburn and star guard A.J. Storr to the portal this offseason. The program is in pursuit of numerous top transfers and should be able to land a few in the coming weeks.

Either way, it moves into 2024-25 without its longtime leader at point guard.

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Wisconsin basketball in pursuit of a former All-CUSA transfer guard

Wisconsin basketball in pursuit of a former All-CUSA transfer guard

Wisconsin basketball is in pursuit of former Jacksonville State transfer guard KyKy Tandy, according to On3’s Jamie Shaw.

Tandy entered the portal on April 24 and has already received a ton of high-level interest, including from Wisconsin, Oklahoma, Auburn, West Virginia and St. John’s.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

The graduate transfer averaged 17.8 points, 2.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 1.1 steals on 42% shooting and 39% from three in 2023-24. The former top-100 recruit played four seasons at Xavier from 2019-2023, finally broke out in his first graduate transfer season at Jacksonville State last season, and is now set for a final year of eligibility.

Wisconsin is in need of stellar guard play after Chucky Hepburn and A.J. Storr’s departures. Tandy is a new entrant into the portal, and could fill one of the Badgers’ massive backcourt voids.

Wisconsin has not had any success in the transfer portal thus far this offseason. For more on the program’s current pursuits, here is an updated list.

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Wisconsin basketball makes a late push for a four-star transfer guard

Wisconsin basketball making a late push for a four-star transfer guard

Wisconsin basketball is in pursuit of former Central Arkansas transfer guard Camren Hunter, according to 247Sports’ Dushawn London.

Hunter entered the portal on March 7 and quickly drew heavy interest. London reported the veteran guard “recently visited St. Louis, is nearing a decision and has recently heard from Wisconsin, Butler, West Virginia and Florida State.”

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

The transfer guard averaged 16.9 points, 5 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals on 42% shooting and 31% from 3 as a sophomore in 2023-24. He is listed as a four-star transfer by 247Sports, specifically ranked as the No. 165 overall transfer and No. 28 shooting guard.

Hunter played a huge role for the Bears during each of his first two collegiate seasons, and he entered the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.

Wisconsin is badly in need of a transfer splash after missing on most of its top targets. The program must replace the backcourt production of Chucky Hepburn and A.J. Storr. The potential addition of Hunter would be a big step toward accomplishing that goal.

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Wisconsin HC Greg Gard addresses departures of A.J. Storr and Chucky Hepburn

Thoughts on Greg Gard’s comments on Storr and Hepburn’s departures?

Wisconsin basketball head coach Greg Gard met with reporters on Wednesday in advance of the university’s winter sports postseason reception.

There were numerous pressing topics, including the program’s lack of transfer portal success, the program’s direction and the state of the sport as a whole.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

However, no topic was more pressing than the departures of stars A.J. Storr and Chucky Hepburn.

Gard elaborated on the context behind their decisions and what he felt about the situation:

“If anybody in their right mind told any of you guys or gals that you could go triple your income by taking a different job, you’d do it in a heartbeat. No questions asked,” Gard said. “Did we all not want to see them go? Yea, of course. Love those two kids; they were great for us. But I understand the landscape we’re in. I would tell my kid probably to do the same thing if I was in that position.”

Wisconsin’s head coach was clear in his message: He understands the current landscape and the players’ perspective.

“The earning power window is really small,” Gard continued. “And when they have those type of opportunities in front of them, that’s hard to say no to. So I don’t begrudge them at all for that.”

Here’s his full answer, courtesy of WKOW’s Karley Marotta:

For context, Gard also noted Hepburn’s representation did not give Wisconsin a chance to match any name, image and likeness licensing offer before he entered the open market. Meaning the Badgers fell on the wrong side of the unfortunate reality that college basketball has become. He also said the program’s NIL budget tripled from year-to-year, but in that time the market increased fivefold.

The only thing Gard and his staff can do now is retool the 2024-25 team, work on retaining the remaining talent and return to winning on the court. A strong 2024-25 campaign with top point guard Daniel Freitag leading the show could be what’s necessary to get buy-in from the fan base and continue to see the NIL budget increase.

Players will transfer out, it’s the nature of the sport today. But wins on the court is still the one thing that defines programs. And Wisconsin hasn’t started losing on the court quite yet.

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Wisconsin basketball one of two Big Ten programs to land visit with top transfer SF Matt Cross

Wisconsin will host an important transfer forward this week:

Wisconsin basketball is hosting UMass transfer forward Matt Cross on a visit this week, according to On3’s Joe Tipton.

The Badgers are one of two Big Ten teams in the running for the four-star transfer recruit. The Iowa Hawkeyes are the other team to land a visit.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

Wisconsin was previously named as a program that was in ‘heavy pursuit’ of Cross, along with Iowa, TCU and USC.

Cross is 247Sports’ No. 193 player in the transfer portal and No. 37 small forward. The 6-foot-6, 225-pound SF was formerly the No. 93 player in the class of 2020, No. 21 small forward and No. 5 recruit from the state of Massachusetts.

The small forward’s college career has been an adventure. He began at Miami, transferred to Louisville for his sophomore season then played the last two years at UMass. He did average 15.3 points, 8.3 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 54% shooting and 33% from three in 2023-24.

Wisconsin needs wing scoring in a bad way after the departures of A.J. Storr, Chucky Hepburn and Tyler Wahl. The Badgers are yet to land a player from the portal, making their pursuit of Cross even more critical.

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Wisconsin basketball transfer target, former Minnesota forward commits to SEC school

Another transfer target off the board for Greg Gard and his staff

Wisconsin Badgers transfer portal target Pharrel Payne committed to Texas A&M on Tuesday.

Wisconsin had expressed interest in the former Minnesota forward after he entered the transfer portal on March 28. His departure was considered a big loss for a Minnesota program that is looking for momentum under head coach Ben Johnson — though Payne wasn’t its only big loss of the offseason.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

The 6-foot-9 forward averaged 10 points, 6.1 rebounds, 1.2 assists and 1.4 blocks on 60% shooting as a sophomore in 2023-24, improving on nearly every stat from his productive freshman season.

Greg Gard and his staff are still in search for a replacement for departed senior forward Tyler Wahl. Payne would have filled that criteria and been a terrific option for the Badgers.

That search will now have to continue after the forward became the latest in a long line of Wisconsin’s transfer targets to commit elsewhere.

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Wisconsin football in contact with former four-star offensive lineman

Wisconsin football in contact with former four-star offensive lineman

Wisconsin football has been in contact with former Arkansas offensive lineman Paris Patterson, according to 247Sports’ Chris Hummer. 

At 6-foot-6, 352-pounds, Patterson entered the transfer portal yesterday after exercising his redshirt season as a freshman. A myriad of schools including SMU, Colorado, Michigan State, Tulane, New Mexico and Wisconsin have reached out to Patterson since he made his decision to transfer. 

11 total schools have made contact with the offensive lineman since he entered the transfer portal on April 21.

The Illinois native graduated from East Saint Louis Senior High School as Rivals’ No. 5 recruit in Illinois. He was also ranked No. 247 nationally and No. 18 at his position.

Patterson initially received offers dating back to April 2021. Tennessee, Iowa State, Nebraska, LSU and Kansas extended offers up until August 2022. At East Saint Louis, Patterson helped the Flyers orchestrate an 11-game winning streak en route to the program’s 10th state title in its history. The team wrapped up the season at 12-2.

He has experience at multiple positions at the offensive line, but 247Sports’ Allen Trieu projects Patterson as a power-guard and compares the former Razorback to the New York Giants’ Marcus McKethan.

Despite not establishing ties to Wisconsin prior to his commitment to Arkansas, Patterson would join a program with a history of developing its lineman into NFL staples. 

Patterson is yet to make any transfer decision.

BREAKING: Former Wisconsin Badgers guard commits to a Big Ten rival

Reaction to Connor Essegian committing to a Big Ten rival?

Former Wisconsin guard Connor Essegian announced his transfer commitment to Nebraska on Sunday afternoon.

The fan-favorite Badgers guard had also visited Big Ten rivals Maryland and Indiana, but opted for the Cornhuskers in the end.

Related: An updated list of Wisconsin basketball’s transfer portal targets

Essegian struggled in 2023-24 after falling far in the rotation, averaging just 7.3 minutes and 3.2 points per game. Nebraska head coach Fred Hoiberg hopes he returns to his freshman year form — 27.4 minutes and 11.7 points per game on 40% shooting and 36% from three.

He joins a Nebraska program that made the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2014 in 2023-24. Hoiberg has the Cornhuskers headed in the right direction, and is now looking to take the next step into contention.

The now-former Badger is sure to play more at his new home. He transfers with two years of eligibility remaining.

Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard must replace the departed production of Essegian, Chucky Hepburn, A.J. Storr and Tyler Wahl. He and his staff are hard at work in the transfer portal to mitigate those losses, though they are yet to receive a commitment.

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Wisconsin basketball in pursuit of the transfer portal’s best point guard

Greg Gard is taking a big swing after losing PG Chucky Hepburn:

Wisconsin basketball is among the programs that have reached out to former Texas transfer guard Tyrese Hunter, according to longtime basketball writer Gery Woelfel.

Hunter is a big swing by Greg Gard and his staff, needing to replace the production and leadership of transfer guard Chucky Hepburn. The former Texas and Iowa State guard is 247Sports’ No. 12 overall player in the transfer portal and No. 2 point guard.

Related: An updated look at Wisconsin basketball’s 2024-25 roster after Chucky Hepburn’s departure

The Badgers have a prior connection to Hunter. He is a Racine, Wisconsin native, though the program did not enter his high school recruitment. But the in-state connection, paired with a significant starting role on the 2024-25 team would be a big part of the program’s recruiting pitch.

The talented point guard played 32 minutes per game for the Longhorns in 2023-24, averaging 11.1 points, 2.9 rebounds, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals on 45% shooting.

Woelfel notes that both Wisconsin and Marquette are among the numerous programs to have reached out to Hunter after he entered the transfer portal on April 15.

Gard and his staff are in need of a jolt after star point guard Chucky Hepburn entered the transfer portal on Thursday. Hunter would provide that and then some, and would recalibrate the team’s expectations in 2024-25.

We’ve named him as one of the potential replacements for Hepburn. The question is: can Wisconsin win the recruiting battle?

Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion. Follow Ben Kenney on X.

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