Wisconsin star John Blackwell announced Monday that he plans to enter the transfer portal while exploring the NBA draft process. The now senior guard averaged a career-high 19.1 points, 5.1 rebounds and 2.3 assists this season while shooting just under 39% from 3-point range.
After arguably the best season of his collegiate career, Blackwell earned All-Big Ten Third Team honors, helping lead the Badgers to a 5-seed in the NCAA Tournament, where Wisconsin ultimately fell short of expectations losing to High Point in the first round.
In a heartfelt farewell post on social media, Blackwell thanked Madison and the Badger faithful for their support, saying the fan base “showed up with unwavering support” through “every high and every tough loss.”
The 6-foot-4 guard dominated in the Big Ten Tournament, scoring 34 points against Washington and 31 against Illinois. In his lone March Madness game, Blackwell scored 22 points, with 20 coming in the first half.
Blackwell praised head coach Greg Gard and his staff, saying their guidance and direction “helped [him] grow into a player [he] didn’t know [he] could become,” but said that growth fueled his decision to transfer.
“I believe I owe it to myself and my family to chase the highest level I can reach, and this is the right time to take that step and leap of faith,” he said.
Each year as a Badger, Blackwell took major leaps as an all-around player, jumping from 8 points per game his freshman year to over 15 in his sophomore year and eventually 19.1 this season. Still, Blackwell never established himself as a true number one, playing as the second option to John Tonje and Nick Boyd over the past two seasons.
Team success also played a major role in Blackwell’s decision, he said in a statement to ESPN. In each of his three seasons at Wisconsin, Blackwell never made it past the second round of the NCAA Tournament, losing twice in the first round. This year’s 83-82 upset loss to No. 12 High Point may have added fuel to the fire.
“I'm looking for a place where I can enhance my skills for the NBA and a place where I can compete for a national championship,” Blackwell said. “A place where that's the standard and what we're striving for."
While NIL numbers aren’t officially released, Blackwell will garner heavy interest from some of the nation’s top college programs. 247Sports predicts he could command up to $5 million from teams like Duke, Alabama and 2026 national champion Michigan. One Big Ten school that’s certainly not out of the question is Illinois. Blackwell’s father, Glynn, played for the Illini from 1984 to 1988 and was a team captain as a senior.
The departure leaves yet another gap in the roster for Greg Gard to fill. All-Big Ten Second Team guard Nick Boyd played his sixth and final season, Aleksas Bieliauskas announced his entry into the portal on Tuesday, while Nolan Winter’s future is still up in the air.
Gard did flip Australian guard Owen Foxwell from LSU on April 3. The 22-year-old NBL veteran played for the South East Melbourne Phoenix. Still, much more roster construction work is needed heading into next season. The transfer portal officially opened Tuesday morning.
