Greg Gard has landed arguably Wisconsin’s most prolific recruiting class in recent memory with the 2017 class, but the 2018 class has the potential to be even better.
The 2018 class boasts multiple high-ranked prospects from the state of Wisconsin, and the Badgers have traditionally recruited well in-state. Whitnall’s Tyler Herro (four-stars on 247 and Scout) and SPASH’s Joey Hauser (four-stars on 247 and five-stars on Scout) are both top-50 recruits, and Kaukauna’s Jordan McCabe (three-stars on 247 and Scout) is in the top 125.
Click here to see the Badgers’ scholarship distribution chart for the next three years.
The Badgers still have a scholarship position available for next year, but Gard will likely carry that scholarship over into 2018. The idea behind that is pretty simple: to have as many scholarships as possible for the 2018 class which potentially holds three nationally-recruited prospects from the state of Wisconsin. The Badgers are in a tough position because there will only be one scholarship opening up before that season (as of now), so it would make sense for the Badgers to let the scholarship roll over to next year. All in all, assuming no changes are made to the roster, the Badgers will have two scholarships open for 2018.
These three recruits are nationally coveted, and even made some big headlines this week. Hauser was offered a scholarship from Tom Izzo and Michigan State, and Herro was offered by UNLV.
The Badgers watched Hauser and Herro at the NY2LA Summer Jam tournament at Homestead High School in Mequon, WI over the past weekend, with Gard and his assistant coaches very present.
Hauser and Herro both hold scholarship offers from the Badgers.
Marquette is figured to be an enticing option for Hauser since his older brother, Sam Hauser, is set to play for the Golden Eagles this fall. Hauser, a 6’8″ and 210 pounds forward, but has a soft shooting stroke and can handle the ball. He’s an all-around player, which is why he received an offer from other programs like MSU and Virginia. Still, Hauser has said that Wisconsin is dream school from when he was younger and the certainty with Greg Gard taking over the program appeals to him.
Herro is a talented scorer at the shooting guard position. The Badgers are already deep at the shooting guard and small forward positions with Brevin Pritzl, Khalil Iverson, Kobe King, Aleem Ford, and Brad Davison (combo) on the roster, but it won’t stop the Badgers from strongly recruiting either of the current high schoolers.
The biggest wild card of the class, however, is Jordan McCabe. Hauser and Herro are the two priorities for Wisconsin, but should they fail to get one – or both – the Badgers could then intensely recruit McCabe. McCabe is more of an afterthought because of his short height, but he has a bit of a cult following because of his creative play that made him a YouTube sensation. He doesn’t hold an offer from Wisconsin, but he has offers from Minnesota and West Virginia and has received interest from Marquette as well. Wisconsin is likely waiting for the dust to settle with the other two recruits before making any serious moves on McCabe.
2018 commitment is still a long ways away, but the chase for Herro and Hauser and a decision on McCabe will be a hot topic during and after the 2016-17 season.
Photo courtesy of Fox Sports.