UW Hoops off season-----Recruiting & Transfer Portal

[Jim French Stepstool]

As warned, here's some news/rumors/speculation regarding the Badger basketball program off season adventures:

Regarding HS recruiting, the biggest recent news regards Zavier Zens of Wisconsin Lutheran. UW never seemed overly interested & Zens committed to Northern Iowa. Since then their coach left & he de-committed. There seems to be renewed interest from UW & Zens is saying all the right things. He looks like the only possible addition to the team for next season & if it happens would join LaTrevion Fenderson & Jackson Ball.

Of the '27 targets it appears the most likely commits would be G Jalen Brown (Tosa West) & wing Deuce McDuffie (Nicolet). They're still called heavy UW leans, but it feels like McDuffie may be more of a fallback if other recruits fall through.

Iowa State looks like severe competition for other targets, per usual. F Donovan Davis (Freedom) wing Baboucar Ann (Maple Grove , MN) & wing Jack Koenen (Slinger) are all reported to be leaning ISU, but UW is probably among the top 2 or 3 schools for each of them. And despite the Wisconsin connection Otzelberger can't get ALL the state kids, right?

I've read that PF Kager Kneuppel (Wisconsin Lutheran) is leaning to UW but I don't totally buy that just yet as I think he'll get quite a bit of attention this summer.

Jack's brother Joey Kohnen is a class of 28 Forward who some say might be better than his bro. Some consider him a UW lean but a long way to go there.

Now for the portal. First off let me say that I must be out of my mind to speculate on this, what with the sheer volume and highest-bidder mentality ruling a lot of these kids. But here goes:

They were connected to guys like Jamie Kaiser & Finley Bizjack (Butler) and Rowan Brumbaugh (Tulane) out of HS so there may be a possibility there.

Good fits I hope are targets:

Christian Hammond Santa Clara 6'4"

Ryder Frost Notre Dame 6'7"

Joel Foxwell Portland (Aussie PG)

Rihards Vavers Washington St 6'7"

Sonny Wilson Toledo PG

Jimmie Williams Duquesne 6'5"

Brett Decker Liberty 6'5"

Shane Blakeney Drexel 6'5"

Miles Byrd San Diego St 6'6"

Trevian Carson North Dakota St Guard

I didn't include post players because I don't believe they're going to be focusing on that. I also didn't include Jackson Shelstad as I think that would have to constitute winning a bidding war that they won't get into. The portal officially opens April 7th & closes April 21st, but it's hard to imagine there being any actual rules.

Any comments, additions or contradictions, please feel free.

                                                                                                                                    

[Jim French Stepstool]

Some under-the-radar types who shouldn't cost much & could fill bench roles:

Alex Wilkins & Asa Thomas Furman (wing forwards)

Bryce Herro Dayton 6'6", (Chicago kid)

Travan Leonhardt Utah Valley 6'5" (sniper)

Adam Harakow Wyoming 6'7" (Canadian; late bloomer)

Cobi Campbell Troy 6'2" (sniper)

K'Jei Parker UMass 6'2" (quite talented; probably underrating him)

Eric Mahaffey Akron 6'6"

Deng Garang LeMoyne 6'6"

Ja'Corey Robinson Austin Peay 6'6"

Leon Bond Northern Iowa 6'5" (I know he's receiving speculation from fans but my gut tells me he UW would only want him if he gets very little attention & comes real cheap.

[RedStickBrew]

22 year old freshmen G Owen Foxwell committed to UW today. Looks like a ball dominant guard with pro international experience. Will likely only have two years of eligibility. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, RedStickBrew said:

22 year old freshmen G Owen Foxwell committed to UW today. Looks like a ball dominant guard with pro international experience. Will likely only have two years of eligibility. 

Brother of Joel, who is on my above list. Joel had a terrific freshman year at Portland, averaging over 15ppg with 6.5 apg. A little turnover prone but hey, he was a first-year guy. You'd now have to think there's a good chance he's also heading to Madison.

Owen originally committed to LSU.

 

[TwinsBrewersWorldSeries]

6 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Brother of Joel, who is on my above list. Joel had a terrific freshman year at Portland, averaging over 15ppg with 6.5 apg. A little turnover prone but hey, he was a first-year guy. You'd now have to think there's a good chance he's also heading to Madison.

Owen originally committed to LSU.

 

I read this week that the Final Four is very international player heavy..  good to see the Badgers getting in on this party even further.  Hopefully Bucky can keep our current veteran leadership (AB, Blackwell, Winter, Rapp)

[Samurai Bucky]

13 hours ago, Jim French Stepstool said:

Brother of Joel, who is on my above list. Joel had a terrific freshman year at Portland, averaging over 15ppg with 6.5 apg. A little turnover prone but hey, he was a first-year guy. You'd now have to think there's a good chance he's also heading to Madison.

Owen originally committed to LSU.

 

Do they have any more brothers?  Then it might be like the Antetokounmpo brothers with Milwaukee!

[Jim French Stepstool]

1 hour ago, Samurai Bucky said:

Do they have any more brothers?  Then it might be like the Antetokounmpo brothers with Milwaukee!

Actually there IS a third one lol. Not sure what his rep is but he does play & schools are aware of him.

Down-under Kneuppels, apparently.🦘

[RedStickBrew]

 

[LouisEly]

Basketball is not my favorite sport to begin with, but this is why I don't get upset about UW getting upset in the NCAA tournament anymore.  

I'll root for them, but if they lose, I don't care anymore.

[ErnieRilesBrianGiles]

This one kind of hurts...thought after three years he might have some loyalty to Big Red. 

[jay87shot]

1 hour ago, RedStickBrew said:

 

I would think he would be in line for a huge payday to transfer out. That really stinks but I kind of predicted it.

 

I would really go for Zens, if at least to build a bridge into getting favor in recruiting a Knuppel brother in the future. He does have good size and skills to be an old school Badgers power forward (Wilkenson) or new age 3 (Dekker).

[RedStickBrew]

I don’t like losing JB, but if the dollar amounts that are rumored to be offered to him by other programs is true, then UW really had no other choice. He was 3rd team all-conference  this year. On a championship level team, he would be the third scoring option. Just not the way UW can spend with our NIL levels. 

[RedStickBrew]

2 minutes ago, jay87shot said:

I would think he would be in line for a huge payday to transfer out. That really stinks but I kind of predicted it.

 

I would really go for Zens, if at least to build a bridge into getting favor in recruiting a Knuppel brother in the future. He does have good size and skills to be an old school Badgers power forward (Wilkenson) or new age 3 (Dekker).

I like Zens. He’s a bit of a late bloomer maybe which kept top programs from offering him.

I also like that UW has had new recruits sign two year deals. I would love to see them allocate some dollars to those younger in state kids like Davis etc. and see if they could land a couple of them. 

[Jim French Stepstool]

This emphasizes to me that they should definitely try to add Joel Foxwell, as well as Owen. Some seem hesitant because they're both PGs, or believe if they have both that one would be a backup to the other. IMO point guard is a position/skillset where you can easily play two alongside each other as long as they aren't both pass-first guys who can't shoot or don't have a scoring mentality. Say, Mike Kelley & Travon Davis playing together. That would be problematic. The Foxwell boys can both put it in the hole.

This certainly also opens up a spot for a wing who can score. For three years now they've added someone from the portal whose #s have risen noticeably after coming to UW. That needs to be sold. There are nice candidates out there, and with the NIT over & the NCAAs over after tonite that list is sure to grow.

Strap in. The insane season is upon us.

[Jim French Stepstool]

2 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

I like Zens. He’s a bit of a late bloomer maybe which kept top programs from offering him.

I also like that UW has had new recruits sign two year deals. I would love to see them allocate some dollars to those younger in state kids like Davis etc. and see if they could land a couple of them. 

I'll be interested in seeing how UW fares in competition with Otzelberger & ISU regarding Davis, Ann, & the Kohnen boys. Brown has been (reportedly) a heavy UW lean for a long time & it's getting a little annoying that there hasn't been a commitment. But cheating is now legal. Maybe you can't blame guys for slow-playing.

I've always looked at Zens as a tweener. But guys like that can exist in the so-called "positionless" era, and it seems like his stock definitely HAS risen. I'll trust Gard on this one as he's earned it.

[Samurai Bucky]

5 hours ago, LouisEly said:

Basketball is not my favorite sport to begin with, but this is why I don't get upset about UW getting upset in the NCAA tournament anymore.  

I'll root for them, but if they lose, I don't care anymore.

I think I root for them because I went to school there, was in the band, blah blah blah.

Maybe I should have gone to a school like Cardinal Stritch.

... wait a minute... 😜

[CheezWizHed]

On 4/4/2026 at 2:18 PM, Samurai Bucky said:

Do they have any more brothers?  Then it might be like the Antetokounmpo brothers with Milwaukee!

I hope not, because that would mean only one of them is really any good!

[Jim French Stepstool]

I'm sure we all know about the Blackwell announcement. More recently Alexis Bieliauskas announced for the portal (or his overseas agent announced for him; it sounds like AB has little to no involvement in the process). It can get scary when the roster starts to show gaps, but very, very few kids have made decisions on schools at this time, and many will enter the portal that haven't done so yet.

I'm not saying the new reality doesn't suck. I'm saying there's no reason to panic. Oh, and it does suck.

[RedStickBrew]

 

[RedStickBrew]

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

Looking into Autry's numbers, he's a very high volume 3pt shooter---just over 78% of his shots last season were from beyond the arc. He hit around 39% of those looks.

UW also just signed Victory Onuetu, a 6'11" post player who played at Hofstra last season. He's a rim protector who averaged almost 7 RPG while playing just under 18MPG. Limited offensively. A nice compliment/depth piece to Rapp & Winter. I didn't expect UW to sign a big as I thought Bieliauskas' chances of returning were a little better than 50-50, but since he left this isn't a bad replacement; you sacrifice some offensive potential for defense & rebounding which I'm OK with. Both Autry & Onuetu have one year eligibility remaining.

EDIT...Redstick, you edged me out by a nose!!!!

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

Also Zavier Zens of Wisconsin Lutheran signed with Illinois. UW was in his final 3 or 4 schools.

And Eian Elmer, a 6'6" wing who started last season for Miami (O) is reportedly down to UW & Baylor. He would be a very, very nice fit

[RedStickBrew]

 

[Jim French Stepstool]

4 hours ago, RedStickBrew said:

 

THAT'S a nice addition. From all indications he plays hard on both ends. Can rebound, shoots it well from all levels and very nice size out on the wing. Has averaged 1 TO per game for his career, which also fits.

The last three years, Greg Gard has grabbed someone from the portal who came in with a skill set that suggests a chance of being a 'go-to' type guy offensively. All three times that guy had his offensive numbers increase dramatically with UW. The unfortunate part of this whole deal now is that money talks, but I think a big part of securing Elmer was selling him on that very point. Well done.

Davion Hannah of Milwaukee has also entered the portal. UW recruited him out of HS. They might make contact but unless Hannah has a desire to return close to home that supersedes going to the highest bidder, I don't think the Badgers are a match. Wouldn't mind being wrong though.

[OldSchoolSnapper]

This is probably a broken record. But this crap has ruined the sport for me. Half the fun of college hoops was watching your guys develop for 4 years. Knowing that someone coming in as a freshman might play 1 minute per game and be the anchor 3 years later. UW is just playing the game they have to, I get that, but in the same way I never consider Russell Wilson a true Badger, Victory Onuetu isn't one either. Then watching all the guys who break out go bail for someone else. This is awful. It needs reform yesterday.