MADISON – Daniel Freitag is will take his talents to the Empire State.

The former Wisconsin Badger announced his commitment to Buffalo on Thursday night. He will play for George Halcovage, who was an assistant at Villanova when the Wildcats won national titles in 2016 and ’18.

Freitag shared the news on X and Instagram with a post that showed him in a Buffalo uniform.

“Committed,” he wrote followed by a heart emoji.

Freitag, a 6-foot-2 freshman guard from Bloomington, Minnesota, played in 14 games this past season for Wisconsin, scored two points and grabbed four rebounds. He has three years of eligibility remaining.

The Bulls went 9-22 this season with a 4-14 mark in the Mid-American Conference finished 11th out of 12 teams.

That said, the program isn’t a stranger to success. It capped a run of four straight MAC titles in 2019.

Freitag is the third former Wisconsin player for this season’s team to find a new home. Point guard Camren Hunter went back to Central Arkansas and forward Xavier Amos committed to Loyola Chicago.

Wisconsin WBB adds high scoring veteran guard out of the transfer portal

Robin Pingeton has picked up another important transfer commitment, this time from a grad transfer, Destiny Howell out of Howard. Howell is a veteran leader who has played all of her college basketball career at Howard and will use her final year of eligibility to play for Pingeton and Wisconsin. She’s a dynamic scorer who can fill up a stat sheet, and it will be fascinating to see how her game translates to the Big Ten.

Howard transfer Destiny Howell has committed to play for Robin Pingeton and Wisconsin

Destiny Howell averaged 14.9 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. Those stats don’t really do her full game justice. They are impressive, but she has had some incredible games in her career. Last season, she had nine games where she scored more than 20 points and one game in which she scored 30. She has the ability to absolutely take over a game and help her team to victory.

Howell is also long for a guard. She’s listed at 6’0″ and used that size to generate 44 steals and 18 blocks on the season. However, maybe what impresses the most is that she is a savvy veteran leader. She has played a lot of college basketball and done it in a very loyal way. With Pingeton having to rebuild a team from the studs, she will need a player she can trust to run things like a veteran.

Howell joins two other incoming transfers (so far): Gift Uchenna from Southern Illinois and Laci Steele from NC State. Pingeton will still need to add a bunch more players because even with the addition of these three, Wisconsin women’s basketball only has nine players on the roster. That’s not nearly as many as the Badgers will need to compete next season in the Big Ten.

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Badgers looking to add to 2025 recruiting class

Elisee Assui #24 of Itelyum Varese seen in action during the…

Elisee Assui #24 of Itelyum Varese seen in action during the… | SOPA Images/GettyImages

The Badgers aren’t quite done filling out their 2025 recruiting class. Joe Tipton of On3.com reported Wednesday that Wisconsin had interest in Elisèe Assui, the youngest player in Italy’s Serie A — the top professional league in Italy. According to Tipton, Assui has averaged 5.4 points and 3.0 rebounds across 17.8 minutes per game since January. Texas, Missouri and Clemson, among others, are also in pursuit of Assui.

Born in 2006, Assui has an impressive frame for his age. There are discrepancies in his listed height and weight across websites, but he falls somewhere in the neighborhood of 6-foot-6, 220 pounds.

As a physical, slashing wing, Assui offers a different skillset than the Badgers ’25 commits. And considering Wisconsin’s current roster, Assui would provide some much-needed depth.

Assui’s developed frame and mobility makes him an extremely versatile defender, and he uses his mass well when driving to the rim. He’s an impressive finisher through contact and since January, he’s knocked down 14 of 30 attempts from three-point range.

Still, there’s plenty of room for improvement for Assui. His ball handling and on-ball skills will need development, and he might benefit from dropping some weight to improve his vertical and lateral athleticisim.

Considering Assui has already made it to Italy’s highest level at his age, there are plenty of reasons for optimism — not only for his long-term upside, but his potential to make an immediate impact with the Badgers.

Wisconsin’s 2025 recruiting class currently consists of guards Zach Kinzinger and Hayden Jones, along with big man Will Garlock. With plenty of scholarships left to play with, expect Greg Gard and co. to be aggressive in the pursuit of Assui and other ’25 recruits.

The Badgers have suffered a massive blow to their offensive line.

The Wisconsin Badgers have suffered a devastating blow to their offensive line, as starting left tackle Kevin Heywood has torn his ACL and is ‘probably’ out for the season, head coach Luke Fickell confirmed on Tuesday.

Heywood, a true sophomore, was slated to take over for longtime starter Jack Nelson after coming to Madison as a four-star recruit in the Class of 2024.

The 6’8, 312-pound left tackle had gone down with an injury earlier this month during spring ball, and offensive line coach A.J. Blazek said that the team was still evaluating him on Friday.

Well, the worst has been confirmed, and Heywood is out for the season, leaving Wisconsin without their emerging sophomore ahead of a crucial year.

With Heywood’s injury, the Badgers will have to shuffle up front, and they have a few options. Former Vanderbilt transfer Leyton Nelson could slide into a starting spot. He has plenty of tackle experience and was expected to be the swing tackle behind Heywood and right tackle Riley Mahlman in 2025.

Left guard Joe Brunner could also kick out to tackle, allowing for an interior option to step into a starting spot.

The Badgers could also look to the spring transfer portal window for an option, but nonetheless, this is a tough blow to a younger player who was emerging as one of Wisconsin’s top breakout candidates in 2025.

Greg Gard has been busy in the college basketball transfer portal. He’s already added essentially three starters for Wisconsin’s next season’s roster. However, he’s still on the prowl for players that can give the Badgers a boost up and down the lineup. Gard targets specific players for specific fits for Wisconsin, and so it’s always intriguing which player emerges on his radar.

The newest name is JaKobe Coles who entered the transfer portal out of Grand Canyon University.

JaKobe Coles says he has heard from Wisconsin after entering his name in the portal

JaKobe Coles is a 6’8″ forward who was a beast for GCU last season. He averaged 14.4 points per game on 51% shooting from the field, 5.7 rebounds, and 2.1 assists per game. He can also knock down the outside shot on occasion, and while most of his points come from inside, he isn’t afraid to take a shot from behind the arc. He attempted 92 three-point shots last season.

Coles is entering the transfer portal as a grad transfer. He started his college career at Butler but was injured early in the season and had to have knee surgery. He is requesting a medical exemption from the NCAA to play one final season in college. After Butler, he went to TCU, where he played for three years. Finally, he transferred again to GCU, where he was able to really showcase his ability to score in the paint and from the free-throw line.

It will be interesting to monitor if the recruiting relationship continues to develop between Coles and Wisconsin. It could have very well been an interest call or an aggressive pitch. They could use Coles with the loss of Xavier Amos, but they will have to compete with other schools also vying for him. He’s heard from Arizona State, West Virginia, Oregon, Cal, Iowa, Xavier, and Creighton.

Former Marquette Golden Eagles assistant coach Fred Hill

Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Fred Hill against the Cincinnati Bearcats during the first round of the men’s Big East tournament at Madison Square  Garden.

Greg Gard and Wisconsin Badgers basketball program have been acing it in the transfer portal but for Nick Boyd, they had a help from an unlikely personality.

Nick Boyd

Mar 17, 2025; Dayton, OH, USA; San Diego State Aztecs guard Nick Boyd (2) speaks with the media during the First Four Practice at UD Arena.

Boyd was among the hottest players in the transfer portal after he decided he will leave the San Diego State Aztecs. The Badgers were interested and they acted on it quick. They landed him in just a few days.

It’s not like it was a rushed decision. Boyd said he studied his decision with Washington Huskies among those he was contemplating about.

Wisconsin Badgers coach Greg Gard

Mar 14, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Wisconsin Badgers head coach Greg Gard in the first half against the UCLA Bruins at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

He also consulted some key figures in college basketball season. Among them is former Marquette Golden Eagles assistant coach Fred Hill.

How are the two connected? Boyd is the nephew of Hill who worked with Golden Eagles from 1986 to 1988. He spent 37 years as assistant coach or head coach.

Fred Hill’s view of Wisconsin Badgers helped Nick Boyd

Greg Gard spoke glowingly about Boyd and his probable fit with John Blackwell and Nolan Winter. He also praised him for his experience he carries.

Boyd knows about the program but his discussion with Hill were probably the nails in the coffin on this transfer. Boyd wants to both win and become an NBA player.

What did he say to his nephew about the Badgers? He thought the young player can get both under Gard.

Former Rutgers head coach Fred Hill

Feb 23, 2010; Newark, NJ, USA; Rutgers Scarlet Knights head coach Fred Hill during the second half against the Seton Hall Pirates at the Prudential Center. Seton Hall Pirates defeat Rutgers Scarlet Knights by a score of 76-70.

“The biggest concern was what Nick wanted to get accomplished in his last year of college basketball,” Hill said in an interview with Badger Blitz.

“He wants to be a pro, and I wouldn’t put it past him at all that he’ll get an opportunity to play in the NBA. The focus was going to a program where he could be the leader of a team he felt that could win championships. We know how hard that is, but that’s his goal, and he made a phenomenal decision for his final year.”

Former Wisconsin guard Luke Haertle reentered the transfer portal on Thursday.

The Hartland, Wisconsin, native transferred from Wisconsin after the 2023-24 campaign, eventually committing to Winona State (D-II). Haertle excelled during his one season with the Warriors. He started 32 of 33 games, averaging 35 minutes (team-high), 17.2 points (team-high), 6.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists (team-high) while shooting 44.5% from the field and 28.9% from 3. The former Badger also led the team in steals (56) and blocks (14).

Haertle led a Winona State team that went 22-11 overall and 14-8 in conference play in 2024-25. Its season concluded with a loss to MSU Moorhead in the NCAA DII Central Region semifinals.

The former Badger reenters the portal with two years of eligibility remaining.

The 6-foot-4 guard originally joined Wisconsin as a preferred walk-on ahead of the 2022-23 season. He redshirted as a true freshman, then appeared in 11 games in 2023-24, totaling one shot attempt and two rebounds in 11 minutes.

Haertle was one of seven players to transfer out of Wisconsin after the 2023-24 season. He’s also one of three to reenter the portal after one year elsewhere, following A.J. Storr (via Kansas) and Gus Yalden (via Seton Hall).

Wisconsin, meanwhile, is still hard at work in the portal, looking to bolster its roster entering the 2025-26 season. The team already has three high-profile commitments. However, it still has significant remaining needs in its reserve unit, especially after Xavier Amos’ departure.