Offseason work paying off for 2025 in-state center Kai Rogers
WAUWATOSA - Kai Rogers spent much of his offseason cutting weight and adding muscle.
That work has translated well to the basketball court this winter for the 6-foot-11, 240-pound sophomore from Wauwatosa West High School.
"I think my movement and the speed I've gained from the weight I've lost has been my biggest improvement since the summer," Rogers told BadgerBlitz.com after a 91-82 win over Marquette University on Friday evening. "I've gotten a lot stronger and it's helped my speed, my vertical and my stamina."
Rogers' stat line against the Hilltoppers was impressive. He recorded a double-double with 19 points and 11 rebounds, but he also chipped in seven blocks and four assists for the Trojans, who improved to 10-6 on the year.
"Every game that we can establish that post early on, it allows us to work off of that," Rogers said. "We got some kick outs for threes and some cuts to the rim for layups. That was working for us this game and it was a good win.
"As a team, some games we play great as a team and then some games we get up but let them come back and make it hard for ourselves. It was good to close this one out."
Wisconsin is one of a handful of schools that have prioritized Rogers early in the recruiting process. The Badgers offered after a strong camp performance this past summer. He has since taken no less than two more unofficial visits.
"I would say I was a little shocked because it was one of my earlier offers from my home-town school, so I was really happy about that," Rogers said. "The visits to Wisconsin were great but right now I'm just open to everything. I like taking visits to see how everyone interacts with each other and the style of play for each school. I've been to Wisconsin more than other schools because it's a closer trip for me.
"They play through their bigs a lot and that's appealing to me. We do that at my school and I like being involved like that. It would also be nice to play close to home if I wanted to."
Florida State, Georgetown, Illinois, Iowa, Milwaukee, Minnesota, Mississippi, St. John's and Texas have also offered Rogers, who plays for the Wisconsin Playground Club on the AAU circuit.
"Georgetown and Wisconsin are probably the two schools I'm hearing the most from right now," Rogers said. "Michigan State and Minnesota also seem pretty interested. With Georgetown, I really like the Big East and their style of play. Being coached by an all-time legend in Patrick Ewing is also a thing that stands out to me about Georgetown. He's one of the best bigs to ever play, so if I ended up there I would be able learn a lot from him.
"I also visited Minnesota and I like them because they play at a fast pace like in the NBA. That's my ultimate goal, so being in an offense like that is something I want and they also have great player development."
As far as future visits, Rogers is wide open.
"I'd like to see any school that's talking to me and wants to get me on their campus," he said.
The Badgers have also offered fellow in-state standout Davion Hannah in the 2025 class.
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