Wisconsin inks Michigan PF Taylor Currie in 2018 class

Senior power forward Taylor Currie, who committed to Wisconsin just over one week ago, signed his national letter of intent Wednesday.

A 6-foot-9, 205-pound power forward from Clarkston High School in Michigan, Currie reclassified from the 2019 class in June. He chose UW over an offer from Xavier and strong interest from a number of other programs.

"Taylor's recruitment intensified quickly and we could easily see that he fit in well with our culture not only on the court, but off the court and in the classroom as well," head coach Greg Gard said in a release. "When he visited Wisconsin, he impressed us with his maturity level and understanding of the process of how to have success as a Badger. I think he has an excellent chance to really develop and excel in our program. Taylor is a very skilled post player with the ability to stretch defenses with his range to the 3-point line."

According to the release, Currie was a Detroit News All-North Second Team honoree and earned Class A All-State honorable mention in 2017.

"To show how successful and advanced he is academically, he could have stayed in high school and graduated in the 2019 class, but decided to accelerate his education with the ability to enter college beginning in the summer of 2018 and start to grow as a student-athlete by competing against the best," Gard said. "He's both talented and hungry to get better, which are two important qualities we want in the young men in our program. I know he's really excited to pursue a second straight state championship at Clarkston this year, and then get ready to begin his career as a Badger. We are really excited that he is joining our program and look forward to helping him develop to his full potential as a student-athlete."

In the 2018 class, the Badgers also have a commitment from center Joe Hedstrom, who accepted a "four-for-five" scholarship opportunity from UW.