Former Badgers Four-Star Forward Commit Jack Thelen Pledges to Blue-Blood Program

Wisconsin basketball's 2027 recruiting class suffered a significant blow back in October when 7-foot-1 center Jack Thelen from Maple Grove High School in Minnesota de-committed from the Badgers' stacked class.

That still left Wisconsin with two elite guards in the 2027 class in Jalen Brown and Baboucarr Ann, both of whom are four-star, top-100 players in the nation. Still, Wisconsin at one point had three nationally ranked, four-star prospects pledged at one time and was realistically in the midst of constructing its best class of all time.

Wisconsin figures to find a way to bounce back from this blow, with its strong recent track record on the recruiting trail, not to mention its strong connections overseas (especially in Australia/New Zealand). Still, Thelen is a big loss for this program, and the Badgers got a painful reminder of the caliber of prospect it missed out on when Thelen committed to his new school.

According to Joe Tipton of On3, Thelen has committed to UConn.

NEWS: 4⭐️ Jack Thelen, a 7-foot-1 center, has committed to UConn, he told @Rivals.

The former Wisconsin commit is ranked No. 88 nationally in the 2027 class, according to Rivals. https://t.co/6NuwyCbuGN pic.twitter.com/CZxZz6zFfs
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) November 11, 2026

The Huskies, of course, are one of the top programs in all of college basketball. They've played in three of the last four national title games, winning two back-to-back. They're one of pretty much two schools (Duke being the other) that can truly lay claim to operating like a "blue blood" program right now.

Thelen's de-commitment obviously stung before he pledged to UConn, but now, knowing the caliber of program that's after his services, the loss stings a bit more as you start to envision what could've been. If Brown and Ann develop into the players Wisconsin think they can be, and if Thelen lives up to the standard at UConn, Wisconsin's 2027 recruiting class could be one of the biggest "what-ifs" in program history.

Thelen joins two five star guards (Jordan Page, NaVarro Bowman Jr) ranked No. 10 and No. 11 in the country, respectively. UConn also has a four-star forward from France, Keny Vado, locked up in the 2027 cycle. The Huskies' 2027 recruiting haul currently ranks No. 2 nationally on 247Sports.

Wisconsin's 2027 class, meanwhile, still checks in at a very respectable 28th nationally, with the two four-star guards in tow. But now you get the feeling the Badgers aren't quite done in this cycle, and it'll be interesting to see how head coach Greg Gard and his staff approach finding their next big man of the future.

It'll also be fascinating to see what kind of leap Australian freshman forward Isaac Riddle — who's flashed some legit skill — can make from year one to year two.

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