It's the offseason, so the news is flowing in a bit slower than it does in September or November. Yet, there's still a lot going on, as there are former Badgers trying out for NBA teams, men's and women's basketball recruiting updates, and even a couple of speedsters committing to Luke Fickell and the Wisconsin Badgers.
NBA Tryouts for Steven Crowl and John Tonje
All the press clippings are going toward John Tonje when it comes to Badgers in the draft—rightfully so, as he will most likely be a second-round pick. Steven Crowl, on the other hand, will most likely go undrafted and unsigned. However, he's really put together an impressive list of NBA workouts. Teams are certainly doing their homework on the 7-footer who can stretch the floor.
Tonje has received mixed reviews but he continues to be projected at around the 40th pick and says he will have at least 12 workouts before the draft.
Wisconsin basketball recruiting 5-stars?
This week, we also learned that Robin Pingeton is bringing in one of the top players in the 2026 recruiting class for a visit. KK Holman is a top-50 player in the country and has a host of top programs chasing her. Pingeton is hoping to make a huge splash to start; even getting on her radar is a big step for the first-year coach.
Greg Gard is also chasing down a 5-star player from the 2027 class. It helps that he's an in-state product, and maybe that will give the Badgers a boost in his recruitment.
Luke Fickell adds speed to the 2026 recruiting class
On the football side, the two latest additions for the Badgers and Luke Fickell are from a pair of insanely fast players. One is a WR, and the other is a DB, and both reportedly run at around a 4.3 40-yard dash speed. That's really fast, and it makes you wonder if speed is part of Fickell's strategy going forward.