WBB: Wisconsin transfer portal targets

Robin Pingeton has been working the phones early and often to try and rebuild the Badgers roster.

Earlier this week, the Wisconsin Badgers women’s basketball team updated their roster to the 2025-26 season and, uh, there are only six players listed. That low number is to be expected as UW is in the midst of a coaching change which has seen six players enter the transfer portal in addition to the three other key contributors that exhausted their eligibility at the end of the season.

WATCH OUT! DON’T GET SUCKED INTO THE PORTAL!!!

Even if no players were in the portal, the Badgers would still be down two starters and their sixth woman so this team was bound to look different in 25-26 one way or the other.

Based on social media scuttlebutt and new head coach Robin Pingeton’s own words, the Badgers have been active in contacting potential new players in the portal since she was hired. I have separated some players into three different categories: 1) players I’ve been told the Badgers have varying levels of interest in, 2) players originally from Wisconsin who may want to return home (and aren’t in category one already), and 3) B1G players I think the Badgers could use on their team. The third category will be a separate post.

With those three scientifically proven categories ready to go, let’s take a look at the players!

(Heights listed are from team websites; year listed is 2024-25 class)

Players I’ve Been Told the Badgers Have Varying Levels of Interest In

• Mariyah Noel, Ole Miss, 5-foot-11, guard, sophomore, Kansas City, Kan.

  • 2024-25 stats: 19 games (0 starts), 8.5 mpg, 2.2 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.2 spg, 0.5 bpg, 0.7 topg

  • FG: 17-of-47 (36.2%); 3P: 4-of-17 (23.5%); FT: 3-of-3 (100%)

  • while she is from Mizzou’s recruiting territory, as far as I can tell Pingeton didn’t offer her in high school, but they may have had contact before; Noel hasn’t played a ton in her first two seasons, but her stats suggest that she is a solid defensive player at the very least

• Maggie Hartwig, Evansville, 6-foot-1, forward, sophomore, Sauk City, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 30 games (30 starts), 32.2 mpg, 16.3 ppg, 9.2 rpg, 0.9 apg, 1.0 spg, 0.7 bpg, 3.7 topg

  • FG: 180-of-453 (39.7%); 3P: 46-of-131 (35.1%); FT: 84-of-102 (82.4%)

  • I’m a little worried that this is a case of “Inflated Stats Due To Team’s Badness” because Hartwig has impressive counting stats but all of her efficiency and advanced stats are way less impressive; I do buy her as a good three-point shooter though as her free throw numbers went up from freshman to sophomore year in correspondence with her long-range shooting numbers; she’s a decent rebounder too and maybe her efficiency numbers would go up if she weren’t one of the focal points of the offense

• Lily Hansford, Iowa State, 6-foot-2, guard, junior, Green Bay, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 32 games (0 starts), 10.0 mpg, 1.1 ppg, 1.4 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.3 bpg, 0.4 topg

  • FG: 10-of-52 (19.2%); 3P: 10-of-49 (20.4%); FT: 4-of-4 (100%)

  • some cursory searching shows that Wisconsin didn’t offer Hansford coming out of high school; she played at Oregon State for her first two seasons where she averaged around 3.5 ppg in 59 games played; transferred to ISU for, presumably, more playing time and got kinda buried on the bench for an underachieving Cyclones team; she is a better shooter than 20.4% from deep, but almost certainly not as good as her sophomore season (44.9%, on higher volume too); uses he length well against smaller guards

• Laci Steele, NC State, 5-foot-11, guard, sophomore, Edmond, Okla., COMMITTED TO WISCONSIN

  • 2024-25 stats: 23 games (0 starts), 6.9 mpg, 1.7 ppg, 0.9 rpg, 0.2 apg, 0.3 spg, 0.2 topg

  • FG: 14-of-42 (33.3%); 3P: 9-of-27 (33.3%); FT: 2-of-3 (66.7%)

  • offered by Pingeton at Mizzou; didn’t play a ton this year, but her numbers improved greatly in ACC play and, weirdly, against top-50 competition; has very high defensive metrics (over both seasons) for a deep bench player; No. 56 player in 2023 recruiting class

  • Here is my post on her committing to Wisconsin

Players Originally From Wisconsin Who May Want to Return Home

• Jorynn Ross, Arizona, 6-foot-3, forward, sophomore, Milwaukee, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 18 games (0 starts), 6.1 mpg, 1.1 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.1 bpg, 0.6 topg

  • FG: 5-of-12 (41.7%); 3P: N/A; FT: 9-of-10 (90%)

  • started 14 games as a freshman at Pepperdine and was named to the WCC All-Freshman Team; appeared to fall out of the rotation at Arizona as she only played one minute total after Jan. 31 of this year; she is a traditional big in the sense that she barely attempts any threes, cleans up on the glass, and protects the rim; while Ross is from Milwaukee, she moved to Texas for high school

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• Jaelyn Acker, Furman, 5-foot-7, guard, RS junior, Richfield, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 23 games (5 starts), 14.7 mpg, 2.6 ppg, 1.2 rpg, 0.5 apg, 0.6 spg, 0.7 topg

  • FG: 20-of-72 (27.8%); 3P: 16-of-61 (26.2%); FT: 3-of-6 (50.0%)

  • attended Cal Baptist in 2021-22 but didn’t play; has seen her role steadily decline over three years at Furman; started 27 games as a RS freshman but only 5 games in the two years after that; has primarily been cast as a three-point specialist (lowest 3P-rate in her career is 84th percentile) but doesn’t have good numbers from deep (26.6% career 3P%); made SoCon All-Freshman Team in 2022-23; I don’t see much upside here as she is a Three Point Shooter Who Is Not Good At Three Point Shooting

• Kearra Jones, Mississippi Valley State, 6-foot-1, forward, freshman, Madison, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 31 games (21 starts), 20.7 mpg, 7.5 ppg, 4.4 rpg, 0.9 apg, 0.8 spg, 0.5 bpg, 2.5 topg

  • FG: 83-of-203 (40.9%); 3P: 4-of-22 (18.2%); FT: 61-of-92 (66.3%)

  • MVSU was a…bad team and, as a freshman, Jones was a bright spot for the future of the Delta Devils; she turned the ball over too much, but showed promise as a defensive stopper on the wing; I don’t think she’ll ever be a great shooter, but her FT% suggests that she should improve throughout her career from beyond the arc; with three years of eligibility remaining, I’d take a gamble on my staff’s developmental ability turning Jones into a useful Big Ten player, were I the new coach of a Big Ten team

• Eliana Sheplee, UNI, 5-foot-10, guard, freshman, Birchwood, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 9 games (0 starts), 3.8 mpg, 0.8 ppg, 0.7 rpg, 0.1 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.4 topg

  • FG: 2-of-9 (22.2%); 3P: 0-of-1 (0%); FT: 3-of-7 (42.9%)

  • not a whole lot to go off of at the college level, but Sheplee graduated from Rice Lake High School as the all-time leading scorer and was a multi-distance state champ in track; of note, Sheplee’s younger sister, Adaline, is the top prospect in the state of Wisconsin for the 2026 class and holds an offer from the Badgers; I haven’t seen a public top-five or top-10 list from Adaline Sheplee, but she also has offers from schools like Iowa State, Maryland, UNC, Oklahoma, Utah, Ole Miss, and Louisville among many others

• McKenna Johnson, Minnesota, 5-foot-9, guard, freshman, Wilmot, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 24 games (0 starts), 6.4 mpg, 2.9 ppg, 1.5 rpg, 0.4 apg, 0.1 spg, 0.4 topg

  • FG: 23-of-59 (39%); 3P: 9-of-29 (31%); FT: 15-of-19 (78.9%)

  • Johnson enrolled early at Minnesota, so she was able to practice with the team in the second half of the 2023-24 season; No. 60 ranked player in the class of 2024 by ESPN; she held an offer from UW out of high school

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• Jordana Reisma, Cleveland State, 6-foot-3, forward/center, junior, Brown Deer, Wis.

  • 2024-25 stats: 34 games (34 starts), 29.7 mpg, 14.3 ppg, 7.1 rpg, 1.0 apg, 0.4 spg, 1.3 bpg, 1.9 topg

  • FG: 183-of-276 (66.3%); 3P: N/A; FT: 120-of-168 (71.4%)

  • Reisma has appeared in 104 games in her career (69 starts) and has attempted zero three-pointers; named to Horizon League All-Freshman Team in 2022-23; named to the All-Horizon League Second Team and the Horizon League All-Defensive Team this past season; during her three seasons at Cleveland State almost all of her statistical categories improved year-over-year; she was sixth nationally in FG% and seventh nationally in eFG% this past season; she also finished third in the country in points per shot attempt (1.38); would fill the Carter McCray role perfectly, but in Pingeton’s “positionless” offense she might struggle a bit with no threat of an outside shot