Following a few portal departures this past week, the Wisconsin Badgers are once again in the transfer portal, hoping to complete the remainder of their roster.
In recent years, the Badgers have had a lot of success in the transfer portal, locating a standout player in each of the previous three seasons. They signed AJ Storr during the 2024 offseason, who had a successful season in Madison before switching to Kansas the following year.
After missing a large portion of the 2024–25 season due to injury, John Tonje, who went on to become an All-American and one of the top transfers in the nation, underwent an outstanding evaluation with them during the 2025 offseason.
Then, in a more high-profile transfer last offseason, they signed Nick Boyd, successfully persuading the San Diego State guard to select Wisconsin over a number of other offers. Boyd also had a breakthrough season for the Badgers, scoring 20. 7 points and 4. 3 assists per game to lead the team while maintaining a respectable 48% shooting percentage overall and 36. 5% from beyond the arc.
Additionally, Wisconsin has demonstrated the capacity to recruit talent from the portal when necessary by finding valuable role players like Austin Rapp, Braeden Carrington, and Andrew Rohde in the portal during the previous campaign.
This season, that may be necessary since Wisconsin will need to fill the vacancies left by Boyd, Carrington, Rohde, John Blackwell, and Aleksas Bieliauskas, who are all either ineligible or have joined the transfer portal. Wisconsin has six available roster positions to make up for that significant amount of output.
When it comes to basketball, the Badgers are not among the highest NIL spenders. What has been the secret to their success in the transfer portal?
When asked on The Mike Heller Show, head coach Greg Gard responded, “Well, [a big part is] our staff. ” “Because of all the other financial implications that come with it, I believe we’ve done a good job of identifying and evaluating rather than just jumping at the flashy name that’s out there. We have been extremely disciplined, knowledgeable, and wise about whom we approach, understanding the expense involved.
“And we’ve backed it up with some research as well. Through data analytics, we may conduct a comparison and a translation, put them through a program where we can see if it’s a youngster playing at a mid-major institution, how well he translates, and how his numbers translate. Some of them don’t translate at all, or very well, while others do. Therefore, it’s not simply selecting the most well-known name on Twitter or X, nor is it conjuring up a name out of thin air.
The financial aspect is a major factor in the evaluations. If Wisconsin understands that potential transfers are beyond their budget, they will not take them seriously. However, the Badgers have a solid understanding of where players are and what their resources are, which helps them start those conversations as they identify and analyze players.
“There’s a science behind actually identifying,” Gard said. “And you can tell whether you can be in the game or not rather fast, relatively speaking, based on the financial component behind it, right? ” Additionally, the portal is constantly following trends. The market is hot, like it is right now. It hasn’t even opened, yes. And it’s a player’s market. It will definitely level off, and then there will be [a jump]. If anything, it’s been similar to stock market waves over the years.
As the portal has developed, that reasoning has remained fairly constant. Teams often compete to sign the best players and talent early on, driving up the market as they try to lock down their rosters for the next season. Next, the market dips, and this is when a squad like Wisconsin may employ a ‘moneyball’ strategy to identify the best fit on the court and financially within its budget. With teams still needing to meet needs, the market jump is also seen at the conclusion, as there aren’t as many skilled players as there are teams with needs.
It appears that Wisconsin will follow a similar strategy this year, starting by concentrating on retention before pursuing its goals in the transfer market. A scoring threat, some size, and another quality wing are all necessary. We’ll find out how Wisconsin may address those gaps in the site.
