Wisconsin picked up five transfers in the portal this offseason. Were there any marquee additions?
The Wisconsin Badgers were busy in the transfer portal this offseason, landing five commits to round out their roster for the 2025 season.
Wisconsin kicked things off with the additions of San Diego State transfer guard Nick Boyd, Virginia transfer wing Andrew Rohde, and Portland transfer forward Austin Rapp.
Later on, they landed guard depth with Tulsa transfer Braeden Carrington before completing their roster with the addition of Temple transfer forward Elijah Gray last month. Now, they’ll look to build off their success from a season ago with a new team that has both top-end talent and depth.
When it comes to the transfer portal, NIL has become a big topic, as the marquee transfers have looked for seven-figure commitments to switch schools. The Badgers have become competitive in the NIL field, thanks to the efforts of head coach Greg Gard, and have gotten involved with several top-level transfers in the past two cycles.
Were any of their additions a top-100 transfer in the class?
ESPN ranked their top 100 transfers that entered the portal this offseason, with players like P.J. Haggerty (Memphis to Kansas State), Bennett Stirtz (Drake to Iowa), and Yaxel Lendeborg (UAB to Michigan) leading the list.
Wisconsin did have one name surface on the list, guard Nick Boyd, who was ranked at No. 71 in the top 100.
“Wisconsin had its best offensive season in a long time last season, and the Badgers did it without a true point guard. How will they look with Boyd running the show? He and Andrew Rohde are both capable passers, but Boyd is a natural lead guard who will be surrounded by shooters.”
“Boyd has now been a producer on NCAA tournament teams at two separate schools, helping lead Florida Atlantic to the 2023 Final Four and then putting up career-best scoring and assist numbers this past season at San Diego State. He averaged 13.4 points and is a career 37% 3-point shooter.”
The experience was clearly something Wisconsin coveted, as Boyd has been deep in the NCAA tournament before, while fitting the offense well with his facilitating skills, comfortability with ball screens, and ability to score at all levels.
He’ll look to complement budding star John Blackwell in the backcourt, with the latter moving to his more natural position: shooting guard.
Expectations will be high for Boyd entering his final year of college eligibility, but the guard should be a big addition for the Badgers at the point guard position.