Wisconsin Badgers transfer portal departures pale in comparison to other teams' losses

The Wisconsin Badgers have seen more than 20 players enter the transfer portal this winter, but they have lost a lot less than some much bigger and more successful programs.

Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell is shown during the second quarter of their game against Maryland Saturday, September 20, 2025 at Camp Randall Stadium in Madison, Wisconsin. | Mark Hoffman / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It's been tough for Wisconsin fans to see some of their favorite Badgers players depart in the transfer portal.

It can feel like a mass exodus, seeing name after name enter the portal and later commit to other schools.

But Luke Fickell is sitting in a much better position when it comes to departures than some other big name schools, many of whom were more successful than UW in 2025.

Wisconsin is up to 21 players who have entered the portal, and that doesn't include wide receiver Eugene Hilton and defensive lineman Charles Perkins, who had intended to transfer but chose to remain at the school.

Those losses include starters at quarterback, running back, wide receiver, tight end, guard, center, linebacker, cornerback and safety.

The losses have been significant for sure, but other teams have lost plenty more.

Wisconsin Badgers quarterback Billy Edwards Jr. (9) and running back Dilin Jones (7) are among the starters who have left in the transfer portal. | Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images

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According to The Athletic, Oklahoma State leads the nation with 63 players who have left via the portal. The Badgers have brought in three of them so far.

Iowa State and Penn State are both tied for second with 49 departures in the transfer portal. Two Cyclones have come to Wisconsin in the portal.

Those three schools have had head coaching changes that help explain their losses. Others don't have the same excuse.

West Virginia has 46 transfer portal losses, though they did land Badgers cornerback Geimere Latimer to help make up for it.

Mike Norvell at Florida State has seen 38 players leave, and Deion Sanders at Colorado has lost 35 players.

Related: Wisconsin Badgers 5 biggest misses in the transfer portal through one week of visits

Even some high-performing teams have seen more players leave than Wisconsin.

Ohio State, Louisville, Illinois, Oklahoma and Tennessee have all seen 25 or more players head for the portal.

For some teams, it isn't a ton of starters and key contributors, but it still represents holes on the roster that those staffs have to replace.

Fickell has done a good job filling holes with 27 outside players added, helping ease the pain of the players lost.

Ultimately, these teams will be judged not by how many players they lost but how well they retool their roster and perform on Saturdays in the fall.

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