GOOD NEWS: The Ohio State Buckeyes are thrilled to have Kaden Gebhart, a top 4-star safety in 2026, join the team after defeating the Wisconsin Badgers, Penn State, and Clemson to recruit him.

The Badgers have some steep competition for a top target.

The Wisconsin Badgers made a number of changes to their staff in the offseason, adding four assistants to new roles: offensive coordinator Jeff Grimes, wide receivers coach Jordan Reid, quarterbacks coach Kenny Guiton (formerly the wide receivers coach), and safeties coach Jonathan Cooper (formerly a senior defensive assistant).

All four assistants have been hitting the recruiting trail hard since joining their new roles, as Wisconsin looks to shape its 2026 recruiting class, having hosted their first junior day this past weekend.

Well, one of their top targets, four-star safety Kaden Gebhart, recently listed the Badgers in his Top 4 alongside the Clemson Tigers, Penn State Nittany Lions, and the Ohio State Buckeyes.

Gebhart, an Ohio native, has been one of the most recruited safeties in the 2026 class, landing 30 scholarship offers, including from the likes of Oklahoma, USC, Nebraska, Missouri, and Ole Miss, among others.

The Badgers were in a similar position for a four-star safety in the 2025 class, as they had initially landed a commitment from Ohio native Cody Haddad after their Junior Day last January. However, after continued interest from the Buckeyes, Haddad flipped his stance and is now signed with Ohio State.

Here, they’ll look to fend off three top powers for four-star safety Kaden Gebhart, as the Badgers were the first major team to offer the Ohio native back in February of last year.

But, Gebhart will have a different lead recruiter now, as former safeties coach Alex Grinch is now the defensive coordinator at UCF, which means Jonathan Cooper will take over in that role now.

Will the Badgers be able to close down the stretch here? Or will they potentially fall short of another Big Ten team in the chase for a top four-star in the country?