Tag: wisconsin recruiting news

Future Badgers F Gus Yalden Named to Nike EYBL Peach Jam 2nd Team

2023 four-star forward Gus Yalden made the Nike EYBL Peach Jam 2nd Team:

This past week, the top basketball talents across the country were all in North Augusta, South Carolina, at the Nike EYBL Peach Jam.

The final live period represented the last opportunity of the summer for recruits to showcase their talents in front of high-major coaches from across the country.

Representing the Wisconsin Badgers was 2023 four-star forward Gus Yalden out of Asheville, North Carolina, who made the Nike EYBL Peach Jam 2nd Team.

The 6-foot-8, 240-pound F, who plays with City Rocks (NY), averaged 15.5 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 1.6 assists per game for the week.

Per 247Sports, he is the nation’s No. 12 ranked center in the class of 2023 and the No. 93 ranked player in the country.

Yalden is Greg Gard’s second commitment from a top-100 recruit during his coaching tenure and the first since Nate Reuvers in 2017.

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Wisconsin makes top three for 2023 four-star CB Braeden Marshall

Wisconsin makes the top three for their top remaining CB target in the 2023 recruiting class:

After trimming his list of schools down to five, 2023 four-star cornerback Braeden Marshall is down to a final three: Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Nebraska.

Per the 247Sports Composite, he’s the No. 359 overall prospect in the 2023 class, the No. 38 CB in the country, and the No. 71 player in Florida.

As a junior, the 5-foot-10, 170-pound CB registered 28 tackles, 12 pass breakups, and four interceptions en route to being named to the 8A All-State team.

The Florida native also held offers from Arkansas, Boston College, Cincinnati, Indiana, Iowa State, Maryland, Minnesota, Nebraska, Northwestern, Penn State, and several others.

Marshall, a native of Lake Mary, Florida, intends to announce his commitment on July 30.

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Wisconsin offers 2024 four-star PF Royce Parham

Coach Gard has extended just his ninth scholarship offer in the 2024 recruiting class:

On Saturday, Greg Gard and his coaching staff extended an offer to 2024 power forward Royce Parham out of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

According to the On3 recruiting rankings, Parham is the No. 53 overall prospect in the 2024 recruiting class, the No. 11 PF in the country, and the No. 3 player in Pennsylvania.

The 6-foot-9, 200-pound forward currently holds offers from Duquesne, George Mason, Penn State, Pittsburgh, Robert Morris, Rutgers, TCU, VCU, and Xavier.

You can watch his AAU highlights here.

Parham, a standout at North Hills High School, is a versatile big man that plays with great energy and has all the tools to be a dominant defensive player. He’s active on the glass, uses his length as a shot blocker, has excellent hands, is a fluid athlete, and has a budding face-up game. The kid oozes potential.

The Pennsylvania native announced his scholarship offer from the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:

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Wisconsin offers 2023 four-star LB Blake Nichelson

Wisconsin hands out a new scholarship offer to a LB in the 2023 recruiting class:

On Wednesday, Paul Chryst and his coaching staff extended an offer to 2023 four-star outside linebacker Blake Nichelson out of Manteca, California.

Per the 247Sports composite, Nichelson is the No. 245 overall prospect in the 2023 class, the No. 18 LB in the country, and the No. 16 player in California.

The 6-foot-3, 200-pounds LB currently holds offers from Florida State, Oregon, UCLA, Arizona State, California, Nebraska, USC, Utah, Washington, and several other Power 5 schools.

According to MaxPreps, Nichelson ran for 2,231 yards and 36 rushing touchdowns on offense. On Defense, the junior LB totaled 49 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, seven sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception.

You can watch his HUDL film here.

The California native announced his scholarship offer from the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:

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Wisconsin basketball has offered Canadian-born center Cyril Martynov

Coach Gard has asked 2023 center Cyril Martynov to reclassify into the 2022 recruiting class:

Earlier this week, Efe Ashakah of NPH Scouting reported that the Badgers coaching staff watched 2023 center Cyril Martynov out of Toronto, Canada, play during the July evaluation period, and it would appear they came away rather impressed.

Martynov, who currently holds offers from Arizona State, Georgia Tech, and UC-Santa Barbara, confirmed to BadgersWire that Coach Gard has also offered him a scholarship to play for the Badgers; however, there is a caveat.

The offer from UW is contingent on him reclassifying to the 2022 recruiting class and joining the program this fall.

“Right now, they [UW] are pitching the development aspect for 2022, which would obviously be much better at the University,” Martynov explained.

With Chris Vogt’s graduation, the Badgers are incredibly thin in the frontcourt behind starting center Steven Crowl – and desperately need depth. UW has been unable to find a good fit in the transfer portal, so this is undoubtedly a unique way of addressing the issue.

The 6-foot-11, 230-pound center from Lawrenceville High School (N.J.) is physically ready for college and has the ideal tools for a developmental big man. He has good size and athleticism, rebounds well, and can shoot from beyond the arc.

The Canadian-born big man has a very mature game but still has plenty of unrealized potential on the court. Overall, his versatility should make him a mismatch against opposing centers down the road.

He’s still in the early stages of building a relationship with the Badgers coaching staff, but Martynov believes UW could make a lot of sense for him.

“There is definitely mutual interest – I think I fit Wisconsin’s program well, and they’d be a good fit for me,” he added.

Martynov also shared that his original plan was to return to school and be a member of the 2023 recruiting class, but he and his family are discussing all options for the upcoming season.

“I’m looking for a mix of high-level basketball and academics while also having a coach that values my development and is willing to work with me towards my goals,” Martynov said.

Coach Gard and the unranked big man will essentially be speed-dating from here on out. Martynov is expected to take an official visit to Wisconsin sometime in August and would need to make a reclassification decision for the upcoming season quickly after that.

Wisconsin’s coaching staff doesn’t make this move unless they believe he can slot into meaningful minutes for the Badgers this upcoming season.

Behind Crowl, UW has Chris Hodges, Carter Gilmore, and Markus Ilver, which isn’t ideal in a post-dominated conference like the Big Ten.

I believe he’d slot into the backup center role from day one as long as he can get up to speed and hold his own defensively.

Martynov’s recruitment will be exciting to monitor due to its unusually time-sensitive and forward-thinking nature.

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Wisconsin’s four-star OT target Joe Crocker commits to SEC school

Wisconsin misses on their top OL target in the 2023 recruiting class:

Earlier this month, 2023, four-star offensive tackle Joe Crocker, who holds an offer from Wisconsin, trimmed his list of schools down to three.

On Monday evening, Crocker announced that he was officially committing to Mississippi State.

According to the Rivals recruiting database, Crocker is the No. 40 OT in the country and the No. 8 player in the state of Tennessee.

The 6-foot-6, 305-pound Franklin Road Academy standout also held offers from Wisconsin, Arkansas, Cincinnati, Florida State, Georgia, Louisville, Michigan, Michigan State, Ole Miss, Tennessee, and several other Power 5 schools.

The four-star OT was Wisconsin’s top remaining target at the position and will now head back to the drawing board.

Crocker, a native of Nashville, Tennessee, announced his commitment to Mississippi State via his Twitter account:

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Wisconsin LB target Tackett Curtis commits to a PAC-12 school

After making his top three, Wisconsin misses out on 2023 four-star LB Tackett Curtis:

On Monday, 2023, four-star linebacker Tackett Curtis, who held an offer from Wisconsin, officially committed to USC.

Per the 247sports Composite, Curtis is the No. 81 overall prospect in the 2023 recruiting class, the No. 7 LB in the country, and the No. 7 player in Louisiana.

According to MaxPreps, the 6-foot-2, 220-pound linebacker registered 103 tackles, 12.5 tackles for loss, one sack, one interception, and one fumble recovery as a junior at Many High School.

Curtis, a standout at Many High School, also held offers from Wisconsin, Ohio State, LSU, Clemson, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, and just about every other school in the nation.

Wisconsin misses on their top-of-the-board recruit, who they worked tirelessly to impress, and will now head back to the drawing board for the 2023 cycle.

The Louisiana native announced his commitment to USC via his Twitter account:

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Wisconsin lands 2023 long-snapper Keane Bessert as PWO

Wisconsin adds a long-snapper in the 2023 recruiting class:

On Friday, Paul Chryst and his coaching staff received a walk-on commitment from 2023 long-snapper Keane Bessert out of Fruita, Colorado.

According to the Rubio Long Snapping rankings, Bessert is a 4.5-star recruit ranked as the No. 6 LS prospect in the country.

He committed to UW over reported interest from Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma, and Oregon. You can watch his junior season highlights here.

The 6-foot-1, 220-pound LS caught the attention of the Badgers’ coaching staff during Wisconsin’s team camp back in June.

The Colorado native announced his commitment to the University of Wisconsin via his Twitter account:

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Wisconsin showing interest in 2024 wing Jackson McAndrew

2024 wing Jackson McAndrew talks about Wisconsin’s recent interest:

Several weeks ago, Wisconsin held its annual advanced camp at The Nicholas-Johnson Pavilion – hosting several highly touted prospects on campus for a closer, more intimate evaluation.

One under-the-radar wing that appears to have caught the eye of Greg Gard and his coaching staff is 2024 F Jackson McAndrew out of Wayzata, Minnesota.

The 6-foot-8, 190-pound forward who runs with Howard Pulley on the Nike EYBL circuit currently holds offers from St. Thomas and Northern Iowa. He’s also heard from Wisconsin, Minnesota, Indiana State, Belmont, South Dakota, and North Dakota State.

“Before the Advanced Camp, I had little communication with them [UW]. Since then, communication has picked up, and they invited me to an on-campus visit in August,” McAndrew told BadgersWire.

The junior forward confirmed he would take an unofficial visit to Wisconsin sometime during the first week of August before the team heads across the pond to play exhibition games in France.

McAndrew averaged 5.4 points per game as a sophomore, reaching double figures four times while coming off the bench for Wayzata High School.

“They [UW] are very interested in me and know I will continue gaining strength and skill. The staff loves how I shoot the ball and are excited to see what the future holds.”

Currently unranked by all reputable recruiting services, the 6-foot-8 wing has decent handles for his size and can flat-out shoot the ball. He’s a sniper from beyond the arc with a quick, repeatable release.

Physically, he has a long way to go in building up strength. He’s still growing into his body, but it’s something he told BadgersWire he’s working hard to improve.

The intrigue with a prospect like McAndrew here comes from the high, unrealized ceiling.

There aren’t many players with his height on the wing who can shoot the lights out the way he does.

Suppose he can mature physically, learn to create his own shot, and improve his overall athleticism over time. In that case, it’s easy to understand why UW would express interest, especially this early in his recruitment. There is plenty to like about the Minnesota native.

“I’d say there is interest in UW for sure. I have watched the Badgers a lot growing up and even more so recently. I really like their style of play as it fits mine very well. I also really like the coaching staff,” McAndrew said.

Also worth mentioning, Coach Gard has already offered McAndrew’s Howard Pulley 16U teammates, Andrew Freitag and Jack Robison, in the 2024 recruiting class.

2024 wing Jackson McAndrew will be a name to monitor for UW moving forward. You can watch his Wisconsin Advanced Camp highlights below, courtesy of Fresh Coast Hoops:

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Wisconsin DB target Kahlil Tate commits to Big Ten rival

Wisconsin misses on one of their top remaining DB targets in the 2023 recruiting cycle:

After making his top two list, Wisconsin’s top remaining safety target, 2023 three-star S Kahlil Tate, officially committed to the University of Iowa on Tuesday.

Per the 247Sports Composite, Tate is the No. 613 overall prospect in the 2023 class, the No. 53 ATH in the country, and the No. 10 player in Illinois.

Last season, the Kenwood Academy standout registered 63 tackles, five interceptions, and two forced fumbles as a junior.

Tate, a Chicago, Illinois native, also held offers from Wisconsin, Purdue, Arkansas, Boston College, Colorado, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi State, Missouri, Nebraska, Oregon, Penn State, and several others.

You can watch his official announcement on 247Sports in the video below:

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