Wisconsin Badgers Transfer Portal Tracker

It's setting up to be another busy several weeks of movement on Wisconsin's roster, with transfers being announced and the coaching staff eyeing potential incoming prospects for the 2024 season and beyond. Here's a look at the Badgers who have announced they will be leaving, plus some transfers from across the country who have known interest from the coaching staff.

Follow all of the transfer portal happenings on a national scale on the brand new Transfer Tracker. It includes drop-down items specifically for the Transfer Portal in the menu bar. The current Transfer Portal window is open until May 1.

The Transfer Portal Main Page is the hub where all national content will be hosted, just like for the FB Recruiting and BB Recruiting main pages.

UPDATED ON 5/13/2024

The University of Wisconsin’s first offseason domino fell Sunday, as sophomore Connor Essegian announced on X, formerly Twitter, that he was entering the transfer portal with two seasons of eligibility remaining.

The move comes two days after the Badgers season ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament, the third straight game Essegian was a healthy scratch, and two weeks after telling BadgerBlitz.com that he was not planning on transferring.

The only scholarship prospect from Wisconsin’s 2022 recruiting class, Essegian was a spark off the bench before eventually working his way into the starting lineup over the final 19 games of the season. He averaged 11.7 points per game, set the school record for made three-pointers by a freshman (69), and was named to the conference’s all-freshman team. He figured to be a key piece of UW’s plans moving forward.

That changed in part with the addition of A.J. Storr from the transfer portal, who earned a starting spot over Essegian during camp. In the season opener, Essegian was landed on and suffered a back injury just over five minutes into his season. The lingering effects of the back injury caused Essegian’s play to suffer, starting with glaring lapses defensively and eventually bleeding into his offensive game.

"We can't afford to let him play through it," Gard said of Essegian in mid-December. "The stakes are too high in terms of what this team wants to accomplish."

Committed to: Nebraska

Walk-on guard Ross Candelino entered the transfer portal on Monday. The 6-foot-5 prospect from Florida redshirted this past season and has three years of eligibility remaining.

Committed to: Lipscomb

Walk-on guard Luke Haertle entered the transfer portal on Monday The 6-foot-3 prospect from Wisconsin has three years of eligibility remaining.

Committed to: Winona State

When forward Gus Yalden announced his college commitment, he called it a dream to play for the Badgers. Less than two years later, that opportunity has closed.

Yalden has put his name in the NCAA Transfer Portal after one year and no appearances for the program, ending a UW career that was full of promise but derailed from the start.

On November 1, UW announced he was taking a leave of absence from the team in early November to deal with a “personal family matter.”

He returned to the team on November 10 and was at the scorer’s table late in the second half of Wisconsin’s win over Western Illinois on November 27 before ultimately returning to the bench.

UW never officially announced Yalden’s intentions to redshirt but he never came close to appearing in another game. He did not travel with the Badgers to the Big Ten Tournament in Minneapolis or the NCAA Tournament game in New York.

Committed to: Seton Hall

Walk-on guard Isaac Lindsey, who began his collegiate career at UNLV, will play his final season at another school. This past season, the former in-state standout from Mineral Point averaged 3.8 minutes per game.

Committed to: South Dakota State

University of Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard was hopeful that plucking A.J. Storr from the transfer portal would have a positive impact on his program. He had no idea that the wing from St. John’s would be as impactful as he was.

Leading the team in scoring (16.8 ppg) and helping modernize the Badgers’ offense with spacing and pace, Storr announced that he would depart Wisconsin after one season and declare for the NBA Draft. His post on social media also indicated that he will maintain college eligibility, and Storr followed up by entering the transfer portal a day later.

Committed to: Kansas

Wisconsin senior guard Chucky Hepburn has entered the NCAA transfer portal, a source confirmed to BadgerBlitz.com, a stunning departure for the Badgers as they navigate what is becoming a busy offseason.

Appearing in 103 games for Wisconsin over the past three seasons, Hepburn was one of the key pieces to Wisconsin’s success. In addition to averaging 9.2 points and 3.9 assists per game, Hepburn averaged 2.1 steals per game and was named to the conference’s all-defensive team.

Committed to: Louisville

A two-time selection to the Atlantic-Sun's all-conference team at Central Arkansas, Camren Hunter didn’t play last season after suffering a foot injury in October. As a sophomore in 2022-23, he averaged 16.9 points, 5.0 rebounds, 3.9 assists and 1.5 steals. He made 50 three-pointers, shot 78.6 percent from the free-throw line, and scored in double figures in 27 of 30 games while playing a team-best 33.9 minutes per game.

Starting all 30 games as a true freshman, Hunter averaged 14.1 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.4 assists, and 1.5 steals while shooting 44.7 percent from the field.

A day after former Central Arkansas point guard Camren Hunter announced he would be joining the Badgers’ backcourt next season, former Northern Illinois combo forward Xavier Amos announced he would be joining Wisconsin’s frontcourt.

Rated a four-star portal prospect, the 6-8, 215-pound Amos immediately helps a Wisconsin frontcourt needing to replace starting forwards Tyler Wahl (graduation) and A.J. Storr (transfer to Kansas) with only graduate center Steven Crowl returning with starting experience.

"We are really excited to welcome Xavier Amos to the Badger family," head coach Greg Gard said in a release. "His size and skillset are very versatile, and we are excited about what he can do both on the offensive end and the defensive end.

"After meeting with Xavier and his family, we know this is a great fit for our program. Being from Chicago, he also has familiarity with Badger basketball. We feel that Xavier will blend right in with our culture and our vision."

John Tonje has one season of eligibility remaining after playing 122 games (46 starters) over four years at Colorado State. He was second on the Rams in scoring in 2022-23 at 14.6 points per game and accumulated 1,051 points, 359 rebounds, and 102 assists with the Rams, shooting 45.2 percent from the field and 37.2 percent from three-point range.

Transferring to Missouri for what was expected to be his final season, Tonje played only eight games before being shut down with a foot injury in late January.

“He was one of our best players during summer workouts before suffering the setback,” Missouri head coach Dennis Gates said. “Unfortunately, the injury has prevented him from being completely healthy and reaching the levels he is accustomed to."

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