The Badgers have a crucial weekend ahead of them for official visits.
The Wisconsin Badgers are kicking off their first major wave of official visits this weekend, as they’re set to host 16 prospects overall, comprised of several of their top targets across the board.
Wisconsin currently has seven commits in their 2026 class, lower than where they’ve been in previous years, but they are in a good spot to land top targets this summer. So, ahead of official visits, let’s break down where their class stands, starting with the offense.
Quarterbacks
I did a full in-depth piece on Wisconsin’s quarterback recruiting for the 2026 class, which has been centered around four-star commit Ryan Hopkins.
Running Backs
When it comes to landing top-tier talent, Wisconsin usually needs to recruit the player heavily, while getting a little bit of help from other schools.
That was the case with wide receiver Eugene Hilton last offseason. Hilton was widely expected to go to Georgia early on, but the Bulldogs were recruiting other players and landed some higher-priority targets, leaving Hilton on the board for Wisconsin.
This year, that could be the case with four-star Georgia running back Amari Latimer. While the Badgers were initially perceived to be behind the eight ball, things have looked great for them over the past month or two.
Latimer is, by far, their top target at the position, as Wisconsin also added his brother, Jacksonville State transfer Geimere Latimer, in the offseason to play cornerback.
There are several high-profile schools in the mix, with Wisconsin, Miami, and Texas expected to get official visits currently. Georgia, Michigan, and Tennessee are other schools interested in the four-star.
Looking at the competition, Texas hasn’t gotten a visit from Latimer since last year, as the Longhorns are pursuing a number of other options. Miami has already landed four-star Javian Mallory and is looking for another back in the class, with their eyes on several other top prospects over Latimer.
So, it seems Wisconsin is in a great spot currently, going all in for the four-star at running back. The Badgers had a similar approach with Byron Louis last year. Evidently, that didn’t work out, but Wisconsin has certain targets at the position and has put in the work here.
Wisconsin also has an official visit with Ryan Estrada, who is set to visit during the second weekend of OVs. However, there are quite a few schools coming in hot for the four-star, with Michigan, Alabama, Missouri, and others now in the mix.
It’s notable that the Badgers no longer have official visits with former targets Jamal Rule and Nelsyn Wheeler, showing they’re all in on their top two targets. One recruitment seems promising right now. The other may take some work.
Otherwise, it could be a one running back class for the Badgers in 2026 after taking none in 2025.
Wide Receiver
Wisconsin has quite a few wide receiver targets to keep an eye on for official visits.
First, three-star Tayshon Bardo makes his return this weekend. So far, he’s the foundation of the class at the position.
Three-star Zachary Washington is a key target and will be on campus as well this weekend. For Washington, the top competitors are Wisconsin and Michigan State, with the former seeming ahead in the battle currently in a close battle. He’ll also visit West Virginia and Indiana later in the month.
Then, there’s four-star Jayden Petit, who is scheduled to be on campus this weekend as well, and has quite the group after him. He’s expected to visit Florida, Oklahoma, and Miami after Wisconsin. It’ll be hard to pull the Florida native out of the state, but Wisconsin has a chance here.
Three-star Tennessee native Owen Cabell is slated to be on campus next weekend after an official visit to Vanderbilt. Cabell could be an option for Wisconsin if a spot is still there come June 6th, but the Commodores seem like the favorites currently in this recruitment. We’ll see if he makes it to his Wisconsin visit.
Four-star Zion Legree is the sneaky option, as he’s currently committed to Ole Miss. But, there’s flip potential, as Legree will visit Wisconsin during the weekend of June 13th. He has a good connection with wide receivers coach Jordan Reid, which the Badgers will need to rely on if they’re to land the four-star.
Wisconsin may have three spots filled up by that time. But, Legree is a very good option with blazing speed if they still have one remaining by that third weekend.
Wisconsin is hoping to land three receivers in the class. Which three receivers those will be remains a question.
Tight End
Tight end recruiting in this cycle has been a whirlwind for the Badgers. They lost out on former top target Gavin Mueller, who committed to Colorado.
But, three-stars Jack Sievers and Jack Janda are on campus for the first weekend of official visits, with both being top options for Wisconsin. Janda will visit Stanford, Illinois, and Michigan State after Wisconsin, which gets the first crack at the tight end.
At the moment, Wisconsin seems to be in a good place for the tight end, and they’ll look to close this weekend.
Similarly, the Badgers are in a good spot for Sievers, who is on campus this weekend as well. Wisconsin has quite a few tight ends scheduled for official visits, but that could wrap up if both targets commit during the first weekend.
Sievers is also visiting Boise State, Minnesota, and San Diego State. The one outside school to watch is Oklahoma, which recently offered. But, the Badgers will look to close here this weekend as well.
Behind that, three-star Dominick Barry is scheduled to visit Wisconsin next weekend. He currently has visits to Wake Forest and Kansas as well, while Pitt recently offered.
A more recent offer was three-star Ohio tight end Nick Lautar, who also has a visit scheduled to Wisconsin for next weekend. He’ll go to Louisville this weekend before heading to Madison. Visits to Baylor and Cincinnati conclude his official visit schedule.
Lastly, should Wisconsin need to get there, they have an official visit scheduled with three-star tight end Will Vala for June 13th, recently getting in the race there. The Illinois native has an official visit with the Fighting Illini next weekend before heading to Indiana on June 20th.
Overall, Wisconsin is looking to nab two tight ends. Depending on how the early visits go, Wisconsin could cancel or need the later visits to round out their class, with quite a few targets on their board.
Offensive Line
Wisconsin kicked things off with their commitment from three-star Benjamin Novak early in the cycle. Then came the commitment of three-star Maddox Cochrane back in late April.
Now, they’re looking for one more commit to wrap up their offensive line class.
The lone offensive lineman they’re hosting this weekend is four-star Kamari Blair, a Tennessee native with a strong offer list. Wisconsin will get the first crack at Blair, with South Carolina, Florida State, Ole Miss, and Tennessee set to follow.
A couple of targets head to campus the following weekend: three-stars Marky Walbridge and Jalayne Miller.
Walbridge kicks things off with a Penn State visit this weekend. Wisconsin is next, followed by Boston College and Michigan. All four teams seem to be pushing hard here. Penn State has him higher on their board. Wisconsin is looking for that third offensive lineman. Boston College wants to keep him in-state. And Michigan gets the final crack at him.
Miller is another recruit with a loaded offer list, with USC, Stanford, and Auburn also getting official visits on top of Wisconsin. He’ll visit Auburn this weekend, with Wisconsin next and USC finishing things off on June 20th.
There could be a lot of shifting, depending on how the first few weekends go, so these lists aren’t final. But, this is where Wisconsin currently stands on the offensive side of the ball in the 2026 class. Stay tuned for the defense!