Wisconsin men's basketball adds visit from former Northern Iowa commit

Earlier this week the Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team extended an offer to Zavier Zens. Zens, who was previously committed to Northern Iowa , now has a visit set up with the Badgers. The Journal Sentinel's Zac Bellman first reported Wisconsin, Illinois, and Utah State had extended offers to the 6-foot-7 forward.

Now, Wisconsin Basketball Yearbooks' Mark Miller reports Zens has set up a visit with all three. Things are going to be extremely busy for the three-star recruit from April 10-13. First, he'll be in Utah State on April 10.

Two days later, he heads to Illinois before rounding out his trio of visits in Madison on April 13. Senior wing Zavier Zens (6-7) of Wisconsin Lutheran has set up three visit dates for this spring ... April 10 -- Utah State April 12 -- Illinois April 13 -- Wisconsin — Mark Miller (@WisBBYearbook) April 7, 2026 Zens announced his commitment to the Panthers back on August 1, 2025.

Once Northern Iowa's 20-year head coach Ben Johnson took a job at Utah State, Zens requested a release from his NLI. Utah State being in the running makes complete sense due to Zens' relationship with Jacobson. That said, he's currently playing for Wisconsin Lutheran High School in Milwaukee, WI, so it could come down to how high a priority it is to stay in-state.