The Blue Devils gained a commitment from former Wisconsin guard John Blackwell on Tuesday, April 21, adding one of the top-ranked players in the transfer portal. The 6-foot-4 junior averaged 19.1 points with 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game last season, earning all-Big Ten third-team honors.

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"It just felt right," Blackwell told The Field of 68. "It felt right for me from the jump. When I talked to Coach (Jon) Scheyer and Coach (Emanuel) Dildy ... we chatted and it just felt like the right situation for me. Then when I got on campus, it just confirmed everything I was looking for."

Blackwell is ranked No. 7 in USA TODAY's transfer portal rankings, and was the No. 2 guard in the portal behind former Wake Forest star Juke Harris, who's still uncommitted.

The Bloomfield Hills, Michigan, native started 72 games in three seasons with the Badgers, and averaged double figures on Wisconsin's back-to-back NCAA Tournament teams. He's 1-3 in his career in March Madness, including two first-round exit upsets to No. 12 seeds High Point and James Madison in 2026 and 2024, respectively.

Blackwell will likely start in the backcourt alongside returning guard Cayden Boozer and potentially Isaiah Evans, who's still mulling a 2026 NBA Draft decision. Dame Sarr and Caleb Foster could also return to Duke, with incoming Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski and returning center Patrick Ngongba likely handling frontcourt duties.

Blackwell was huge down the stretch for Wisconsin, scoring 25 points in the Badgers' regular season finale win over Purdue, before dropping 34 against Washington and 31 against Illinois in back-to-back Big Ten tournament games. He also scored 22 points in Wisconsin's NCAA Tournament loss to High Point.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: John Blackwell commits to Duke basketball via transfer portal