Wisconsin basketball recruiting: UW adds in-state walk-on Luke Haertle to 2022 class [UPDATED]

November 22 was a busy recruiting day in Madison apparently. The football team got a commitment from a 3-star LB and the men’s basketball team received a verbal commitment from in-state guard Luke Haertle (Hartland) out of Lake County Lutheran. According to Evan Flood at Badger247, the Badgers offered Haertle a preferred walk-on spot when he came to visit for the game against Green Bay earlier this month.

Heading into his senior basketball season Haertle, who stands 6-foot-4 and weighs 200 pounds, is looking to continue his excellent run at Lake County Lutheran. Last season he helped lead the team to the D-3 state title game, which they lost to St. Catherine’s (Racine), so there is still one more obstacle for Haertle to...hurdle.

During his sophomore season Haertle averaged 20.1 ppg, 10.5 rpg and 4.6 apg on his way to all-conference honors. As a junior, Haertle was named WBCA First Team All-State for D-3 after averaging just under 25 points per game with 10.4 rpg and 4.5 apg. He was also, just recently, named Wisconsin co-offensive player of the year in football (with UW QB commit Myles Burkett), proudly continuing Wisconsin basketball’s long and storied tradition of having a team stocked with former quarterbacks (D’Mitrik Trice, Brad Davison, Jonathan Davis, etc.).

Haertle definitely has a football player’s mentality when driving the lane, often initiating contact and then being strong enough to finish through it. He has a compact, repeatable jumper that should translate pretty easily to the Big Ten. While he is clearly athletic, he isn’t an above the rim player and will do most of his damage from the perimeter or after battling down low for an offensive rebound.

There weren’t many pass highlights in the video above, but the ones that were in there were impressive. He seems to know not only where his teammates are on the court, but where they are going as well. I don’t know if he has the ball-handling ability to be a lead guard, but he will provide good secondary play-making from an off guard position.

Flood notes in his article on Haertle that he counts Carter Gilmore as a long-time friend who helped show him that the path to playing time at UW was attainable as a walk-on.

Haertle joins 3-star SG Connor Essegian (Albion, Ind.) in the 2022 recruiting class.

UPDATE, Monday 4/4/22, 12:55 p.m. CT

UW officially announced that Haertle, which they note rhymes with turtle, is joining the men’s basketball team with the 2022 class. Here is what head coach Greg Gard had to say about the in-state standout:

“We are really excited to announce the addition of Luke Haertle to our 2022 class and our program. Luke grew up around Wisconsin athletics with the dream of being a Badger, and he has worked extremely hard on the court and in the classroom to put himself in this position. Luke’s work ethic and skillset are a great fit for our program. He understands the commitment and drive that it takes to win, recently leading Lake Country Lutheran to its first-ever WIAA state championship. A multi-sport athlete who also stood out on the football field at quarterback, Luke has a versatile skill set, high IQ and understanding of the game. We’re looking forward to working with Luke as a Badger to help him reach his goals here at Wisconsin.”

This past season as a senior, Haertle earned all-state honors after he averaged 22.9 points, 10.0 rebounds and 4.9 assists per game while leading Lake Country Lutheran to its first-ever WIAA state title. The state-title run included Haertle scoring a season-high 35 points in the semifinals, followed by a triple-double in the championship game.

On the football field at quarterback, Haertle earned 2021 WFCA Offensive Player of the Year honors after he led Lutheran to a 10-1 record as a senior, throwing for 1,882 yards and 31 touchdowns while completing 64 percent of his passes.