The transfer portal is churning, and Wisconsin has been one of the most active teams during this cycle, adding more than 20 players with no signs yet of stopping. However, they may have just got one of their biggest wins of the portal by convincing Eugene Hilton Jr. to pull his name out of it.
Hilton posted today that he is returning to Wisconsin for his sophomore year. This is big news for the Badgers as he is poised to be one of the star receivers next season as a sophomore. How did they do it? Well, the recruiting pitch changed overnight for Wisconsin thanks to the transfer portal.
Often the best additions are the ones you keep from leaving. https://t.co/ou3QM1yDeh
— Badger of Honor (@BadgerOfHonorFS) January 8, 2026
Eugene Hilton Jr. has announced he's returning to Wisconsin for his sophomore season
Related: Mason Posa has a hyped up recruiting pitch that Wisconsin fans will love
Hilton had fully put his name in the portal and was receiving a good deal of interest. However, Wisconsin never took the idea of bringing him back off the table. They stayed after, and as soon as they had a top-tier quarterback, the pitch got easier for Hilton to stay.
Wisconsin showed they are investing in the portal, and they are setting themselves up for a big season next year. And it helps that Hilton may end up being one of the top receivers next season. All that was a big pitch for the son of former NFL star T.Y. Hilton. He's decided to run it back as a Badger.
As far as true freshmen go, Hilton didn't have a bad season last year. He had eight catches and got to play in too many games that he couldn't redshirt. But the losing ways, the rotational nature of the quarterback, and the struggling had him thinking maybe Wisconsin wouldn't be a good fit for him.
That's changing this year with the portal, and Luke Fickell scored a big portal addition by not letting Hilton be a subtraction.