Hauser brothers to transfer from Marquette; Wisconsin reportedly “in the mix”

Two in-state student-athletes will transfer from Marquette to pursue their college basketball careers elsewhere.

Brothers Sam Hauser and Joey Hauser will leave the Golden Eagles’ men’s basketball program.

Sam, a 6’8 junior guard/forward, placed second on the team in scoring (15.1 points per game) behind Markus Howard while also leading the team in rebounding (7.2 boards per contest). He shot 45.7% from the field—including 40% from deep—and started all 33 games for Marquette.

Younger brother Joey, a 6’9 forward, averaged 9.8 points and 5.2 rebounds per game as a redshirt freshman in 33 games (30 starts). He shot nearly 45% from the field and 42.3% from three-point range last season.

WMTJ’s Lance Allan first reported the news early Monday afternoon. Both Hausers and Marquette released statements via social media shortly thereafter.

Regarding what programs could be in the mix for the brothers’ services, WISN’s Stephen Watson reported via Twitter that Virginia “is the front runner” to land the duo, but that “Wisconsin is also in the mix.”

Allan tweeted that Wisconsin has a “slim chance.”

A couple of other reports also state the interest by Virginia:

For what it’s worth there are Wisconsin connections to the Hausers.

As detailed out by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s Ben Steele in early December, Badger guard Trevor Anderson holds a close friendship to the former Golden Eagles that dates back even further than when Anderson played with them at Stevens Point Area High School (SPASH).

Anderson tweeted his thoughts after the news dropped:

Current and former Badgers, including Brad Davison and Sam Dekker, also tweeted responses to the news, as seen below.

How much of a chance Wisconsin has to land these two transfer candidates remains to be seen. According to BadgerBlitz.com’s scholarship distribution grid for the men’s basketball program, there appears to be room for both Hausers. How that would affect recruiting the 2020 class and beyond if the two somehow end up at UW would be something to watch.