Wisconsin has plenty of reasons to feel better about 2026 than it did about last fall, but the question hanging over Luke Fickell’s roster isn’t the schedule or even the obvious names arriving through the portal. It’s whether the Badgers can finally get real production from the transfer class after too many additions last year barely moved the needle.
That matters because Wisconsin is coming off a 4-8 season, and the path to improvement is easy to see on paper. The schedule is much lighter and doesn’t include a third of the College Football Playoff teams.
The transfer haul is also bigger and, at least on the surface, more promising. After a rough 2025 and a mass exodus through the portal, the Badgers had to attack the market again, and they’ve now brought in 33 incoming transfers.
There are names in that group who look ready to matter right away. Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph stands out as the clearest example.
Iowa State running back Abu Sama is another. Missouri safety Marvin Burks, Arizona State cornerback Javan Robinson and Oklahoma State center Austin Kawecki are also among the newcomers who seem lined up for starting jobs.
The talent looks real. The film looks real. The issue is whether Wisconsin can turn that into actual production once the season starts.
That’s where last year’s portal class becomes such a warning sign. Wisconsin brought in 22 transfers last offseason, but outside of edge rusher Mason Reiger and tight end Lance Mason, the return on investment was thin. Defensive linemen Parker Petersen and Jay'Viarr Suggs helped some, and there were a few other exceptions, but most of the class either faded into the background or offered very little.
The bigger misses were obvious enough, including former tight end Tanner Koziol and wide receiver Mark Hamper, both of whom left after spring ball. But the more damaging problem was the sheer number of transfers who ended up as little more than depth pieces or players who logged only a handful of snaps in their final year of eligibility. That kind of roster churn costs time, money and spots that could have gone to players who actually changed games.
Wisconsin can’t keep filling the roster with transfers who don’t meaningfully contribute, especially in a Big Ten that has only gotten deeper and tougher. Joseph, Sama, Burks, Kawecki and others may end up being immediate answers. This offseason could look very different from the last one.
But until the Badgers prove they can land portal players who stick and produce, the biggest concern around this team isn’t hard to find.
In Other News...
Former Badgers Coaches Are Surfacing Together Again In A Familiar Twist
Phil Longo is putting another familiar piece in place at Sam Houston, adding a coach he knows well from two different stops along the way. Longo and Jack Bicknell Jr. worked together at North Carolina in 2022 and later crossed paths again at Wisconsin under Luke Fickell, a coaching overlap that has now carried into Longos latest job with the Bearkats.
Bicknell arrives after his most recent stint at West Virginia, while Longo also brings previous Bearkats experience from his earlier run as offensive coordinator. For Wisconsin fans, it is another reminder of how quickly coaching trees keep branching and reconnecting, especially when former assistants keep finding their way back into the same circles. [Read more 🡒]
Greg Gard Is Sending A Clear Message About Wisconsins Biggest Problem
Wisconsins offseason has made the defensive side of the ball the clear priority after a year in which the Badgers slipped to 56th in KenPom defensively, their lowest mark since 2018. Greg Gard and his staff responded by leaning into players who can help on that end and by putting a heavier emphasis on defensive work early in summer workouts, a sign the reset is being treated as more than a talking point.
Gard has been direct about what the Badgers need if they want to belong in the national conversation again. The standard, as he sees it, has to rise well beyond simply protecting the rim, and the early summer approach suggests Wisconsin is trying to build that habit before the season even starts. [Read more 🡒]
Greg Gard Sends Badgers Fans A Needed Update On Key Big Man
Summer workouts have begun for Wisconsin with a roster mix that includes eight newcomers and six returning players, and the early attention has naturally landed on the frontcourt. Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp are both working back from offseason procedures, giving the Badgers a little extra to monitor as they start laying the groundwork for the 2026 season.
Greg Gards update was encouraging, with the medical staff viewing both forwards as progressing as expected and on pace with the teams timeline. That matters because Wisconsin is counting on them to be part of the answer inside this season, and any early uncertainty in the frontcourt tends to linger longer than anyone wants in July. [Read more 🡒]