Wisconsin lands a commitment from Rivals150 PF Gus Yalden
Gus Yalden was the first prospect Wisconsin offered in the 2023 class.
Tuesday, the four-star power forward from The Asheville School in North Carolina announced his commitment to the Badgers on his Instagram page.
“Being from Appleton, Wisconsin basketball just means more,” Yalden said on Instagram.
“I grew up a fan. I’ve been to Camp Randall and the Kohl Center a million times. It’s a place that my family calls home, and there’s no place like home. I’m really excited to go back and to be a Badger.”
Yalden, commit No. 2 for UW in the junior cycle, racked up 20-plus offers during the course of his recruitment but recently trimmed his list to four schools: Wisconsin, College of Charleston, Rutgers and Nebraska. The Rivals150 standout took an official visit to Madison earlier this month.
"It was great," Yalden told Rivals.com. "Coming from Appleton, growing up, being a kid from Wisconsin, it was really cool to be on campus and spend time with the staff. Get a deeper dive into Madison. Be back in the Kohl Center. It was just a great experience. It’s a great town and a great school.
"Yes, I remember (the offer from Wisconsin). I was at my friend’s house during quarantine. He gave me a place to stay, so I could play summer basketball and I was in his room and they texted my mom and I and wanted to get on a Zoom. My mom pulled over on the side of the road and I jumped in my friend’s room and closed the door and it’s just something that a lot of kids dream of, especially me. To watch a school growing up. I cried when they lost the 2015 National Championship, so that meant a lot to me back then. Way a lot, a lot, a lot."
A 6-foot-8, 240-pound prospect, Yalden spent time growing up in Appleton and was supposed to attend Xavier High School before a family move forced him to leave the state. During his prep career, he has lived in Wisconsin, California, Florida and North Carolina.
"My mom didn’t get her career started until later in life," Yalden said. "She was a college coach and then got in the hospital industry by the time I was in high school. She’s just been bouncing around the upper level hospital jobs, so a lot of people think that I’ve transferred a lot, but I’ve really just been around my mom and I’ve had to do, what she’s had to do for her career and what’s been best and honestly, traveling’s fun. Living in different cities, experiencing different things has been a lot fun and I wouldn’t change it for anything. It’s been awesome."
Yalden joined three-star guard John Blackwell as commitments for head coach Greg Gard in the 2023 class.
The Badgers likely have room for at least one more prospect in the current cycle. UW has known offers out to uncommitted juniors Joseph Estrella (Wolfeboro, NH), Jamie Kaiser Jr. (Alexandria, VA), Asa Thomas (Lake Forest, IL), Devin Royal (Pickerington, OH) and Nolan Winter (Lakeville, MN).
_________________________________________________
*Chat about this article in The Badgers' Den
*Check out our videos, interviews, and Q&As on our YouTube channel
*Subscribe and listen to the BadgerBlitz.com podcast (as seen on Apple, Google, Spotify and wherever you listen to podcasts)
*Follow us on Twitter: @McNamaraRivals, @TheBadgerNation, @RaulV45
*Like us on Facebook