Former Badger Who Broke Out at New School Re-Enters Transfer Portal

Sometimes, the grass truly is greener on the other side.

In his freshman season with Wisconsin basketball, Daniel Freitag was an afterthought. He played in 14 games, averaging 1.9 minutes. His biggest contribution was two points against Iowa in an early January contest.

The point guard wound up entering the transfer portal, and landed at Buffalo. He proceeded to immediately lock up a starting role with the Bulls and develop into one of the most dynamic guards in the MAC, averaging 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists on 41/36/83 shooting splits.

Now, Freitag is back on the market.

Buffalo guard Daniel Freitag plans to enter the @TransferPortal, he tells @On3. ⁰⁰The 6-2 sophomore averaged 19.8 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.8 assists per game. Former 4⭐️ that began his career at Wisconsin. Represented by @Edge_Sports.https://t.co/P2CLLLO2iq pic.twitter.com/iUdtcszrcb
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) March 31, 2026

There's a flurry of electric guards from the mid-major ranks entering the transfer portal, but Freitag is obviously quite an interesting one for the Badgers.

Again, in Madison, Freitag's role was extremely minimal. He doesn't even show up on KenPom's player breakdown for Wisconsin's 2024-25 season. The most he ever played was five minutes in a game.

There's also questions about how his time ended with the Badgers, and what kind of relationship he had with the coaching staff upon his departure.

Could there be any interest between Wisconsin, Freitag?

When Freitag left Wisconsin, you got the sense that it wasn't entirely his choice.

"I had the utmost intentions of sticking it out and playing the long game. When they said it would be later in my career that I could help the team on the floor, I still said, 'I'm all in.," Freitag said in an interview with 247Sports.

"This isn't a situation where I'm jumping ship for something better. I'm really just making the most of what I can with the cards I'm being dealt."

Former Wisconsin guard Daniel Freitag. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

That reads like Wisconsin's coaches essentially told him he wasn't part of their plans for the future after he failed to make an impact in year one. That's of course a brutal blow for any college athlete, but also a reality of modern roster-building with the advent of NIL and the transfer portal.

It's still early in the transfer portal phase for Wisconsin, as the Badgers must first work to retain their top talent before they have an idea of what holes they need to fill in free agency. Still, Freitag's entry begs the question: has the bridge between him and the Badgers been burned?

By all accounts, it was a messy breakup after his freshman season. If I had to harbor a guess, Wisconsin has moved on and has no interest in bringing Freitag back. I would imagine the feeling is mutual. But with Wisconsin needing to add to its backcourt depth this offseason, especially a play-making point guard, one has to wonder if there's any chance at a reunion.