Wisconsin basketball recruiting: UW lands grad transfer from Cincinnati [UPDATE: it’s official]

The Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball team added a new big man via the transfer portal, in Chris Vogt, a 7-foot-1 and 260-pound center formerly of the University of Cincinnati. The Mayfield, Ky. native played the last two season for the Bearcats, after starting off his collegiate career with Northern Kentucky. Vogt chose Wisconsin over Minnesota and staying with the Bearcats.

Vogt had followed his NKU coach, John Brannen, to Cincinnati when he was hired to coach the Bearcats. Brannen was fired earlier this month and Vogt entered the transfer portal this past Monday instead of cashing in on his additional COVID year of eligibility with the Bearcats,

During the 2020-21 season, Vogt averaged 5.0 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while shooting 56 percent from the field. He played in 23 games for Cincinnati, starting 21, while playing 18.6 minutes per game. He also is an excellent rim protector, sporting a 6.1 block percentage that was good for No. 95 in the country last year.

Vogt’s best collegiate season came in 2019-20 when the Bearcats were AAC Champs, where he averaged 11 points, 5.9 rebounds and shot 64.8 percent from the field. Vogt played in 30 games, making 29 starts, playing 28.5 minutes per game. Vogt is not a stretch-five in any sense of the word, having only attempted one three pointer (he missed) in his career and he is also a poor free throw shooter.

Also, per Drew’s well placed sources in Cincinnati (he has a couple of buddies that went to Xavier) Vogt is a liability in pick and roll defense which is hopefully something that Greg Gard and co. can clean up before next year.

Vogt joins a Badgers team that was in desperate need of depth in the front court, losing Nate Reuvers, Joe Hedstrom and Micah Potter following the completion of the 2020-21 season.

Prior to the addition of Vogt, Wisconsin had only one big man on the roster standing at 6-foot-10 or higher, in Steven Crowl, who is 7-foot. Crowl only played 35 minutes as a true freshman, while appearing in 11 games. Vogt has one final year of eligibility. The Badgers have also added two other transfers this offseason in wing Isaac Lindsey and guard Jahcobi Neath.

UPDATE, Friday 7/4/21, 7:28 p.m. CT:

UW made the transfer official on Friday afternoon, announcing that Chris Vogt is joining the team.

“I think that Wisconsin was the best fit for me, both on and off the court,” Vogt said. “I fit very well into this program’s style of play and Wisconsin is a very good school to get an MBA from. I want to thank God for giving me the opportunity to play basketball and thank my family for supporting me through this process and my whole basketball career.”

“In today’s environment, carefully navigating the transfer portal has become a part of our recruiting process,” head coach Greg Gard said. “Chris brings depth to our frontcourt, he’s played at a high level, and he has four years of experience under his belt. The fit also aligned well academically for Chris here at Wisconsin. Chris saw our program as a good fit to join, bring his experience and skillset to the team, and help our young players grow. We’re excited to have Chris joining us and we look forward to getting things going with him and the rest of our team soon this summer.”