NCAA Basketball: Top-25 impact incoming recruiting classes entering 2024-25 season

19. Wisconsin Badgers

After starting the season 16-4, the Badgers struggled mightily toward the end of the year. Even with a run to the Big Ten Tournament Championship, it wasn’t enough to propel any momentum in the NCAA Tournament.

Then the rocky offseason came along in which Greg Gard saw the departures of Chucky Hepburn (Louisville), AJ Storr (Kansas) and Connor Essegian (Nebraska) to the transfer portal, among others. 

Greg Gard was able to subdue those losses with a sneaky-good transfer portal class, however, it’s incoming freshman Daniel Freitag who is expected to play an immediate, substantial role for this new-look Badger squad. Three-star SF Jack Robison is another name to monitor from Wisconsin’s recruiting class, too.

In the wake of Chucky Hepnurn’s departure, the door is completely open for Freitag to slot in either as the starting PG or in the sixth-man role backing up Central Arkansas transfer Cam Hunter. Whichever role he lands, he will surely make an impact.

Freitag, a 6-foot-2 three-star recruit from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is a mature player for his age. He has a well-rounded, versatile skill set. He’s a natural at running the point and thrives in high-pressure situations -- a perfect mold for an instant-impact freshman in Wisconsin’s recruiting class.