Wisconsin Badgers weekly recruiting rundown (July 17)
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Recruiting never stops, and this week once again brought about some significant movement on the recruiting trail for the Wisconsin Badgers football and men's basketball teams.
The football team missed out on another top prospect, while the basketball team is hoping to make a splash in the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes with a pair of their top remaining targets.
In an attempt to provide an overview of everything that happened during the past seven days, here is the weekly recruiting rundown.
Basketball: Nolan Winter schedules an official visit
Greg Gard and the Wisconsin basketball team will host forward Nolan Winter for an official visit beginning on August 3. Evan Flood of 247 Sports was the first to report the visit.
A Minnesota legacy, Winter picked up an offer from Wisconsin in June of 2021 and has been one of the top targets in the 2023 cycle ever since. In addition to offers from the Gophers and Badgers, Winter also took official visits to Oregon State and Stanford last year and holds offers from Wake Forest and Xavier.
The 6-foot-10 forward's game is a perfect fit for Wisconsin's style of play. He is great in pick-and-pop situations and is a capable three-point shooter. Winter can also maneuver with the ball in his hands and has a good assortment of low-post moves at this stage of his career. Defensively he is a good rebounder and avid shot-blocker, making him a potential center as he continues to grow.
Winter plays his high school ball for Lakeville North High School in Minnesota, the same school that produced Nate Reuvers and Tyler Wahl for Wisconsin. Wisconsin associate head coach Joe Krabbenhoft is leading the charge in Winter's recruitment, and the Badgers are one of the top contenders, though Minnesota has long been the most likely landing spot based on his family connections.
With multiple scholarships still available in the 2023 class, Wisconsin will look to make a move to upend the Gophers for the No. 2 ranked player in Minnesota. The Badgers currently have commitments from combo-guard John Blackwell and forward Gus Yalden for 2023 but would love to pair Winter and Yalden together in the frontcourt.
Basketball: UW pushing for center Cyril Martynov
Still exploring the transfer portal and 2022 recruiting class for a viable center to add to the roster for this season, Greg Gard and the Badgers have identified a new target.
Wisconsin is pursuing class of 2023 center Cyril Martynov with the hopes of having him reclassify to play as soon as this fall for the team.
The Canadian center is 6-foot-11 and has good size at around 230 pounds, but he is still undecided about if he will sign in 2022 or ultimately stay as a 2023 recruit.
Wisconsin has offered him as a 2022 recruit, while he has a growing offer list that includes Arizona State, Boston College, Eastern Michigan, Georgia Tech, Missouri, and UC-Santa Barbara.
With his recruitment as a 2023 prospect likely to continue to gain steam, the offer by Wisconsin to try to get him on campus early is a smart move by the coaching staff. The Badgers need a big man to back up Steven Crowl this season, allowing the staff to push immediate playing time for Martynov.
For Wisconsin, adding Martynov would be an ideal scenario. Not only would it help fill a major hole on the roster for this year, but it would do so with a younger player to help balance scholarship numbers at center with Crowl entering his junior year.
With the team heading to France soon, it will be fascinating to see if the Badgers can make a move with Martynov in the coming month and get him on campus in August for an official visit. The regular season is still months away, but the logistics of adding a player to the 2022 roster becomes more difficult the longer things drag out.
Football: Kahlil Tate commits to Iowa
After losing quarterback Lincoln Kienholz to Washington and tight end Zach Ortwerth to Iowa over the past few weeks, Wisconsin's 2023 recruiting class was dealt another blow earlier this week.
On Tuesday, safety recruit Kahlil Tate announced his commitment to Iowa, ultimately choosing the Hawkeyes over the Badgers.
Tate took an official visit to Madison in June, and Wisconsin was the favorite after that trip. However, a late visit to Iowa shifted the momentum.
Missing out on Tate leaves the Badgers with several scholarships still available, with needs still at quarterback and tight end for the class.
Outside linebacker Tackett Curtis, offensive lineman Joe Crocker, and cornerback Braeden Marshall are each making their college decisions in the coming weeks, with the Badgers in the best position for Curtis of the three, at this time.
Sitting at 13 commits in the 2023 recruiting class, it will be interesting to see where the Badgers go from here. Wisconsin will likely attempt to flip some prospects committed elsewhere this fall and extend some new offers after the first few weeks of senior film for 2023 prospects become available, but the team might also save multiple scholarships for the transfer portal.
Joe Crocker will make his commitment tomorrow and is deciding between Michigan State, Mississippi State, and Wisconsin.
Football: Wisconsin lands walk-on long snapper
Wisconsin added to their 2023 recruiting class earlier this week, securing a commitment from long-snapper Keane Bessert.
Bessert will join the Badgers as a walk-on and is the first known walk-on commit in the class.
He was the top long-snapper at Wisconsin's summer specialist camp and won similar awards at Kansas State and Oregon in June.
You can read our full commitment breakdown here.
Related links:
- Isaac Gard, the son of Greg Gard, walks-on with the Wisconsin basketball team
- Where the Badgers stand in the 2023 recruiting rankings
- 2023 OL Christopher Terek commits to Wisconsin
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