There was one player in Kansas that Wisconsin really wanted to secure in this recruiting class: 4-star athlete Cooper Ohnmacht. He was a top target in this cycle, and it was big when Wisconsin was able to get him lined up for an official visit for the weekend of June 12th. That visit will not happen now as Ohnmacht didn't make it through his official visit with Kansas State before making his decision. He's decided to stay in-state and play for his hometown college.
It's a rare recruiting miss for Luke Fickell, and yet it's not a punishing one. In fact, you may even say the writing was on the wall in two ways. It became more and more obvious that this would be the choice for Ohnmacht.
BREAKING: Four-Star ATH Cooper Ohnmacht has Committed to Kansas State, he tells me for @Rivals
— Hayes Fawcett (@Hayesfawcett3) June 7, 2026
The 6’0 180 ATH chose the Wildcats over Wisconsin and Penn State
He’s ranked as the No. 8 ATH in the 2027 Rivals300
“All glory to God. EMAW!!”https://t.co/Zyty7yxZtn pic.twitter.com/yQZl7oXoL7
4-star Cooper Ohnmacht has committed to Kansas State before making it to Madison
Related: Luke Fickell swoops into Montana to nab the top high school recruit for Wisconsin
Getting 4-star Mekhi Williams to flip from Florida State to Wisconsin changed a lot about Luke Fickell's 2027 recruiting class. He's the No. 1 safety in Florida and one of the top safeties in the entire country. It was a huge addition for the Badgers, and yet it felt impossible at certain points in the journey. However, Jack Cooper and Luke Fickell stayed on the trail and were able to get the flip.
That flip may have been the first writing on the wall. Not that a class can't take in more than one safety; in fact, Fickell is still trying to bring in more. Dustin Roach and DJ Davis are also already in the fold. However, it's a position of need going forward, and there needs to be a pipeline. Yet, it didn't feel like this class was going to have both Williams and Ohnmacht.
The other reason the writing felt like it was already on the wall for Ohnmacht was that he was a Kansas State lean for a long while. This is why getting the visit set up in the first place felt like some hope. Fickell believes that if he can just get Ohnmacht on campus, he may decide to be a Badger. And there's plenty of reason for Fickell to think that, as he went 5 for 6 in landing uncommitted recruits that opening weekend of official visits.
Read also: Wisconsin loses upcoming recruiting visitor as 3-star DB commits to hometown program
Yet, Ohnmacht didn't make it through his Kansas State visit and now won't be coming to Madison. It's a loss that Luke Fickell has handed to plenty of other programs in this cycle. One of the perks of landing five recruits in the opening weekend is that there are a bunch of programs writing similar articles to this...about how Fickell landed a player before their program even had a chance.
In the end, Wisconsin still holds tons of momentum and is closing up a top-15 recruiting class with 20+ recruits. It's a huge win for Fickell, and we all know he needs them.
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