The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team expects to look much different with Andrew Rohde, Braeden Carrington, and Nick Boyd exhausting their eligibility. We don’t know the status of juniors John Blackwell and Nolan Winter regarding their return to Madison for their senior seasons. As of Tuesday, only two players, Jack Robison and Riccardo Greppi, have entered the transfer portal.
While the Badgers expect to add transfers this offseason, Greg Gard and the Badgers have signed two recruits in LaTrevyon Fenderson out of Racine and Jackson Ball from New Zealand. Perhaps a current Wisconsin high school recruit could join them?
2026 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball Zavier Zens requests release from his NLI
On Monday night, 247Sports’ Nick Osen stated on X that Zavier Zens asked for this release from Northern Iowa following the departure of head coach Ben Jacobson to Utah State. This news was later confirmed by Zac Bellman of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Breaking: Wisco Lutheran star/ Mr. Basketball winner Zavier Zens has requested his NLI release from UNI, after a coaching change with Ben Jacobson, sources tell @247Sports
— Nick Osen (@TheRealNickOsen) March 31, 2026
Look for high major interests here pic.twitter.com/MLiLIRAVPa
It’s that last line in Osen’s post that should get Wisconsin fans' attention. Could Wisconsin offer a scholarship to the Wisconsin Lutheran High School basketball star? Well, it’s possible.
Despite scoring 23.4 points per game in his senior season, Zens has drawn offers from mostly mid-major schools, including Bradley, Drake, Northern Iowa, and UW-Green Bay. According to Zens’ Rivals profile, Mountain West Conference schools Colorado State and Wyoming offered Zens.
That does not mean Wisconsin and other Big Ten teams are not interested in Zens. Mike Hall of Badgers Wire states that the Badgers, along with conference rivals Iowa, Northwestern, and Nebraska, showed interest. Zens did take an unofficial visit to Madison back in June.
It’s unclear where the Badgers stand with Zens, but there will be multiple open spots on the 2026-27 roster for him, given the turnover. The question is whether Wisconsin believes Zens’ skillset will work in Big Ten play. If not, look for Zens to join a solid mid-major program or perhaps follow Jacobson to Utah State, should they offer.