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How Wisconsin Badgers big transfer portal class compares to rest of the Big Ten

The Wisconsin Badgers new class of transfer portal additions stands out above most of their rivals in the Big Ten.
Lorin Cox|
Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, left, and Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell talk while watching players warm up before a game at Autzen Stadium.
Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning, left, and Wisconsin Badgers head coach Luke Fickell talk while watching players warm up before a game at Autzen Stadium. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

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Wisconsin Badgers

The Wisconsin Badgers had one of the most expansive transfer portal classes of any team in the country this winter.

While quantity doesn't automatically mean quality, it showcases Luke Fickell and his staff's ability to out-recruit their opponents in an open market.

Compared to the rest of the Big Ten, Wisconsin has to be feeling good about what it accomplished during the portal window.

According to 247 Sports, the Badgers' 33 additions is tied for the eighth most of any team in the country.

Only two Big Ten teams brought in more players, UCLA and Penn State, and both went through coaching changes this offseason that decimated their rosters.

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Purdue wasn't far behind with 29 new players, but then there's a large gap before the next Big Ten team: Minnesota with 19.

Wisconsin's 33 new transfers all ranked as three-star recruits, so their overall ranking in terms of points is 46th, which slots in 12th among Big Ten schools.

But that makes the Badgers a victim of how these scales are weighted. They rank 20 spots lower than a team like Oregon that had only 12 portal additions but two of them were four-star players.

Differing evaluations

On3 rates Wisconsin more generously, including giving new running back Abu Sama a four-star evaluation in the portal.

Former Iowa State Cyclones running back Abu Sama (24) transferred to the Wisconsin Badgers in the portal.
Former Iowa State Cyclones running back Abu Sama (24) transferred to the Wisconsin Badgers in the portal. | Ron Chenoy-Imagn Images

Related: Wisconsin Badgers had another transfer portal QB target in mind before landing Colton Joseph

It also ranks teams based on a net value of how much they lost in the portal versus how much they gained.

That put Wisconsin as the 15th best transfer portal team in the country this winter. The only two Big Ten teams ranked higher in this metric were Indiana at No. 1 and UCLA at No. 11.

Not bad for Fickell and a Badgers team that went 4-8 last season.

It's a reflection of the increased investment from the athletic department and the coaching staff's ability to take advantage of it.

None of that will matter if they don't field a better team in 2026, but it's as encouraging of a start to the new year as Wisconsin fans could hope for.

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Lorin Cox
LORIN COX

Lorin Cox is the managing editor of Wisconsin Badgers on SI. He has been covering Badgers sports since 2014, when he was an undergraduate at the University of Wisconsin. He previously wrote for the Wisconsin State Journal, NBC Sports Chicago and USA Today Sports Media Group, and he is a former analyst for Pro Football Focus.

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