Football season is controlling the headlines, but Greg Gard is quietly doing something he's never done at Wisconsin before: building a top-3 recruiting class. The Badgers are currently ranked as the third-best recruiting class for 2027. Gard has received commitments from what is now three blue-chip recruits, and that collection of talent has never all committed at once to Gard and Wisconsin.
Jalen Brown still headlines the class as a 4-star recruit out of Wauwatosa West in Milwaukee. Brown is ranked as the No. 14 complete guard according to 24/7 Sports. Adding Brown was a huge win for Gard, as many fans were starting to turn on not only his ability to recruit high school players but also to recruit in-state high school players. After a few misses, bringing Brown to Wisconsin was huge.
Then two players followed him. Baboucarr Ann, Minnesota's top-ranked player and a target that Gard has had his sights set on for a long time, made the decision to also commit to Wisconsin. He's a 4-star small forward at 6'5 and 180 pounds.
Yet, it was the addition of Jack Thelan who committed a little before Ann did that may have really changed this class, in terms of how it from a good class to a great class. Thelan was unranked when Gard scouted, offered, and brought him into the fold. Yet, he was quickly elevated to a 3-star on the 24/7 Sports recruiting ranking.
Wisconsin's 2027 basketball recruiting class is listed as the No. 3 recruiting class by 24/7 Sports
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Then, after the summer season that Thelan put together, a 7-footer playing alongside Baboucarr Ann, his star status jumped up to a 4-star player. He's now the final blue-chip in the puzzle for 2027.
That gives Wisconsin three genuine 4-stars in the class with the No. 1 and No. 2 ranked players from the state of Minnesota. If National Signing Day were today and all three of these players fully signed with Wisconsin, this would be the top recruiting class (in the ranking era) that the Badgers have ever had.
This isn't just Greg Gard's best recruiting class; this is Wisconsin's highest-ranked class ever. That's a big deal, and to do so while taking the best two players out of the state of Minnesota is the cherry on top.
It's not just 24/7 Sports that has the Badgers as a top recruiting class. Sure, that ranking is up to No. 3, only behind Iowa State and Purdue (for now). Rivals/On3 has Wisconsin at No. 8 in the country. On3 has yet to jump Thelan in the same way that 24/7 Sports did.
Even if Rivals keeps Thelan as a high 3-star-ranked recruit, the Badgers' recruiting class is insanely good and something that most fans seem to be sleeping on. A combo of Brown, Ann, and Thelan coming to Madison next year is something to tell your neighbors about.
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