Badgers forward Ben Carlson announces plans to transfer

MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball forward Ben Carlson says he is leaving the program, announcing his plans Wednesday afternoon to enter the transfer portal.

Carlson, a 6’9″ sophomore forward from Woodbury, Minnesota, was a four-star recruit for Badgers head coach Greg Gard, ranking 88th in ESPN’s Top 100 for the 2020 recruiting class.

However, with fellow forwards Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl taking on prominent roles for the team during the 2021-2022 season, playing time was hard to come by for Carlson. He averaged just 9.2 minutes per game for the Badgers this year, scoring 1.6 points per game and pulling in 2.0 rebounds per game while shooting 33.3% from the field.

In a statement on his Twitter account, Carlson thanked the coaching staff for the opportunity but did not say where he plans to go next.

“I would like to thank the University of Wisconsin coaching staff for giving me a great opportunity to play basketball in Madison for the past two years, all of my teammates for supporting me both on and off the court, and the Madison community as a whole,” Carlson wrote. “With that being said, I have decided to enter my name in the transfer portal, and I am excited for what is to come next.”

Carlson joins freshman forward Matthew Mors in entering the transfer portal. Mors made the decision last week to transfer, looking to move closer to home in South Dakota.

The Badgers also could potentially lose Johnny Davis, as the Big Ten Player of the Year is reportedly set to announce whether he will be declaring for the NBA draft on Thursday afternoon.

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