Badgers land first portal commitment with a player who grew up down the road

The Badgers are on the board in this transfer cycle after landing their first portal addition on Saturday.

Former Iowa State safety and Kaukauna native Carson Van Dinter has committed to Wisconsin he announced on social media. The former Cyclone is now heading back home.

Badgers get help at a position of need with first portal commitment

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After losing nearly 20 players to the portal, Luke Fickell and the Badgers will need to be very active players in the portal. Their first commitment comes at a position of great need. They lost Austin Brown to graduation, and then the Wisconsin safety room took a big hit when Preston Zachman left for the portal, leaving Matt Jung and Matthew Traynor as the notable contributors left.

Van Dinter is a Wisconsin native and three-star recruit who spent the last two seasons with the Cylones. He had 18 tackles last season over 11 games. The 6-foot-3, 210-pound safety was the No. 87 ranked safety in the portal according to 247Sports.

With the departure of head coach Matt Campbell, who left to take the same job at Penn State, Van Dinter and many others were left with a decision to stay or go, and Van Dinter will now head home to Wisconsin to battle for a spot in the secondary.

Wisconsin is off to a strong start in the portal, but have dozens of holes left to fill, namely quarterback. The secondary is another area of need, but Van Dinter should help to solidify a position that struggled in 2025.