Three Early Transfer Portal Targets That Make Sense For Wisconsin

The NCAA transfer portal officially opens for basketball on April 7 and runs through April 21.

For all intents and purposes, however, the portal is already in full swing.

With teams getting eliminated from their respective postseason tournaments every day, new offseasons start daily in college basketball. And with plenty of mid-major transfer portal entries already, with Power Four players starting to trickle in as well, general managers across the sport are already beginning to eye prospects to add to their program.

The transfer portal remains in its early stages, but lets take a first look at players who could make sense for the Badgers to target this portal season.

G Jamie Kaiser, Butler

Butler Bulldogs guard Jamie Kaiser Jr. (7). | Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

There's some familiarity here, as Wisconsin went after Kaiser hard coming out of high school. The former four-star prospect from Virginia stayed home committed to Maryland. He spent his freshman season in College Park before transferring to Butler as a sophomore.

Last season with the Bulldogs, the 6-foot-6 Kaiser started to emerge. He averaged 9.5 points, 4.3 rebounds, 1.0 assists and 1.2 steals while posting 44/35/76 shooting splits. He became an every-game starter for Butler, and his scoring efficiency took major strides.

What's more, Wisconsin is in need of another starting wing following the graduation of Andrew Rohde. Kaiser's game still has some developing to do, but he could be an intriguing, familair additon for this staff.

G Stafan Vaaks, Providence

Providence Friars guard Stefan Vaaks (7). | Brad Penner-Imagn Images

Vaaks will be a hot commodity in the portal after a stellar freshman season at Providence in which he averaged 15.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.2 assists. The 6-foot-7 Estonian wing established himself as a premier player in the Big East, and while he'll have no shortage of suitors, Wisconsin has proven it can land big fish in the portal before.

At 6-foot-7, Vaaks is a gifted scorer who can shoot the three (35.0 percent on 8.4 attempts per game as a freshman). He's also clearly a skilled passer for his size at 3.2 assists per game, and he notched 10 in an early December game against Fairleigh Dickinson.

Wisconsin should be familiar with Vaaks as well, as he notched 11 points, four assists, one steal and one block in the loss to the Badgers on Nov. 27.

G Jake Fiegen, Cornell

Cornell Big Red guard Jake Fiegen (22). | Adam Cairns/Columbus Dispatch / USA TODAY NETWORK

Let's go with a mid-major player in Jake Fiegen, formerly of Cornell. The 6-foot-4 guard spent three years at Cornell, and is coming off his best season yet. In 2025-26, he averaged 17.1 points, 5.0 rebounds and 2.1 assists on stellar 55/41/76 shooting splits.

There's plenty to like about Fiegen. Obviously, it starts with his scoring prowess, which is quite evident. But his consistency is also enticing, as he shot over 50 percent from the field and 38 percent from distance the year prior as well; he's a proven shooter with 45 starts in 53 games the past two seasons.

There's no Badgers' connection here, and the First-Team All-Ivy League player will be hotly pursued by plenty of Power Conference schools. But the Badgers need to replace a lot of scoring in the backcourt with the departure of Nick Boyd and potentially John Blackwell, and Fiegen could slide right in at that two guard spot if Wisconsin's staff thinks he brings enough additional intangibles, namely defense.