The Wisconsin Badgers have been focused on the transfer portal in recent weeks, landing commitments from guard Trey Autry, wing Eian Elmer, and center Victory Onetu over the last few days.

Those three players will be key pieces in the rotation next season, as Wisconsin is slowly building its roster towards the 15-player limit. But that hasn’t been the only focus for the Badgers recently. Wisconsin has also been looking into adding more recruits for its 2026 class.

One of the notable names that recently became available was 2026 Wisconsin Mr. Basketball winner Zavier Zens, a three-star forward from Wisconsin Lutheran. Zens had a breakout season, averaging 23.6 points, 5.4 rebounds, and 4.5 assists per game, which helped him earn the national distinction.

He had been committed and signed to Northern Iowa after pledging there verbally last August, but requested a release from his National Letter of Intent after head coach Ben Jacobson was hired by the Utah State Aggies. From there, Zens reopened his recruitment and three schools were at the forefront: Utah State, Illinois, and Wisconsin.

All three received official visits from the forward before a decision was made. At the end, Zens chose to head to the Big Ten, but the forward picked Illinois over Wisconsin over the weekend. He now joins a deep Illinois freshman recruiting class that also includes four-star guard Lucas Morillo, four-star guard Quentin Coleman, three-star guard Ethan Brown, and three-star forward Landon Davis.

It was expected to be a tough battle for the Badgers, who are prioritizing using their resources for more ready-now additions in the transfer portal. Utah State was also a strong option, given the coaching connection and the ability to offer more playing time there.

But Zens chose the team coming off a Final Four appearance, and now is taking a big jump from initially landing at Northern Iowa to playing for Illinois.