ESPN not confident in Wisconsin’s future through 2026 under Luke Fickell

The Wisconsin Badgers were omitted from ESPN’s latest Future Power Rankings through the 2026 season.

The ranking takes into account each program’s current roster, incoming talent, recruiting success, transfer portal and coaching to compile a list of the programs that will have the most on-field success in 2024, 2025 and 2026. Wisconsin was not among those top 25 programs.

Related: Which Wisconsin Badgers will be selected in the 2025 NFL draft?

Notable programs listed ahead of the Badgers include Missouri at No. 20, Louisville at No. 21, SMU at No. 22, Oklahoma State at No. 23, Miami at No. 24 and Arizona at No. 25.

Of note, the Badgers enter 2024 after consecutive 7-6 seasons including one in 2023 in Luke Fickell’s first year as head coach. The program has tempered expectations entering 2024 due to one of the nation’s toughest schedules.

But Fickell has made significant strides since taking over the program at the end of the 2022 season. First, he finished the 2024 recruiting cycle with a top-25 class and with the program’s first-ever 50% blue-chip rate. Now, he has the Badgers’ class of 2025 ranked among the nation’s top 15. He has led the program to a clear improvement in recruiting in only his first two cycles, and has complemented that with several successful transfer portal classes.

Wisconsin’s current roster may not be among the best in the Big Ten or in the nation as Fickell and his staff continue their work on the recruiting trail. But 2025 and 2026 figure to be breakout years for the fast-rising head coach and should see the program return to its typical position within the nation’s top 20.

New for ESPN+: Team Future Power Rankings. Which teams project as the nation’s best through the 2026 season? Combination of current roster, recruiting, portal prowess and coaching.

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Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/espn-not-confident-wisconsin-future-144029078.html

Author : Badgers Wire

Publish date : 2024-06-19 14:40:29

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