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Wisconsin picked second in preseason Big Ten Volleyball poll

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Dana Rettke

After tying for seventh in last year’s Big Ten Conference race, the Wisconsin volleyball team is picked to finish second in this year’s contest based on a preseason vote of league coaches.  The Badgers, who were 11-9 in Big Ten play in 2017, are picked to finish second behind reigning NCAA and Big Ten Champion Nebraska.

The Huskers (19-1 Big Ten record in 2017), who shared the 2017 conference championship with Penn State (19-1), are picked to win the Big Ten title this season.  Minnesota (15-5) finished third last season and is picked to finish third in 2018.  The Nittany Lions are ranked fourth while Illinois (12-8) is expected to finish fifth this season after tying for fifth with Purdue in 2017.

The Badgers landed two players on the preseason team, including unanimous selection Dana Rettke.  The 6’8 middle blocker was named the 2017 National Player of the Year by three separate organizations and was also named the 2017 Big Ten Freshman of the Year.  Senior Tionna Williams, a two-time All-Big Ten selection, was also named to the preseason All-Big Ten team for the second-straight year.

Wisconsin hosts its annual Red vs. White Scrimmage on Saturday at 1 p.m. in the UW Field House.  The season opens on Aug. 24-25 at the Big Ten/ACC Challenge in the Target Center, the site of the 2018 NCAA Championship, in Minneapolis.  The Badgers host No. 3 Texas in their home opener on Sept. 1 in the Field House.

Badgers picked fifth in Big Ten Women’s Soccer Preseason Poll

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Penn State is the top choice to win the 2018 Big Ten Conference women’s soccer championship, according to the Big Ten preseason coaches’ poll announced on Monday.

The Nittany Lions, who have won 18 Big Ten titles and claimed their seventh Big Ten Tournament championship last year, were selected first in the 2018 Big Ten preseason poll by the conference’s 14 head coaches.

Ohio State, which earned its second Big Ten crown last season, finished second in this year’s preseason poll, while Rutgers, which has reached the Big Ten Tournament title game twice in the last three seasons, was chosen third.

Rounding out the top five in the team balloting were Northwestern and Wisconsin.  Both the Wildcats and Badgers reached the second round of last year’s NCAA Tournament, with Northwestern also advancing to the 2017 Big Ten Tournament title game, the Wildcats’ second appearance in the final and first in 20 years.

The 2018 Big Ten women’s soccer season kicks off Thursday with six conference schools in action, while the remaining Big Ten programs will begin play this weekend.

Badger volleyball ranked 9th in preseason coaches poll

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For the fifth straight year, the Wisconsin volleyball team opens the season among the top-10 teams in the nation.  The Badgers are ranked No. 9 in the 2018 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Top-25 preseason poll, released on Wednesday.

It is the 10th time in program history that UW is ranked in the top 10 and the fifth-straight year under head coach Kelly Sheffield.  Wisconsin was ranked fourth in 2016, tied for fifth in 2015, sixth in 2014 and seventh in 2017.

Stanford leads the preseason poll after advancing to the national semifinals in 2017.  Reigning NCAA champion Nebraska ranks second, followed by Texas, Minnesota and Kentucky.  Penn State is sixth, followed by Florida, BYU, Wisconsin and Southern California. [Read more…]

Kasl leaving Badgers to focus on academics (AUDIO)

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Patrick Kasl

Patrick Kasl was expected to open Wisconsin’s football training camp on Thursday as the number-2 right tackle.  But those plans have changed.

Kasl met with coach Paul Chryst to tell him he is giving up football.  The redshirt sophomore is seeking to major in biomedical engineering.

Kasl missed a lot of practice time in the spring because of school.

The Wyoming, Minnesota native took over for David Edwards in the third quarter of the Orange Bowl when Edwards suffered a foot injury.

With Kasl gone, the Badgers are expected to open camp with redshirt freshman Logan Bruss as the backup at right tackle to Edwards.

AUDIO: Badger coach Paul Chryst on Patrick Kasl :14

Leonard turned down good offers to stay at UW

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Jim Leonard

Wisconsin Badger defensive coordinator Jim Leonard revealed that he was linked to several job openings after the 2017 season.

According to a report in Thursday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Leonard had opportunities to become defensive coordinator at Alabama, Florida State and Texas A & M.  Leonard told JS that the talks were serious, but he never came close to leaving UW.

“I had conversations with a lot of people,” he told JS on Wednesday.  “The biggest thing is, this is where I want to be.  I’m home.  This place means a lot to me and trying to take this program to the highest level, whatever that may be, means a lot to me.  That is what it came down to.”

Under Leonard, the Badgers finished second nationally in total defense and third in scoring defense last season, and Leonard was rewarded with a new three-year contract.

Leonard made $600,000 last year.  He’s set to make $966,666 this season.

Big Ten Announces Football Preseason Honors

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The Big Ten Conference announced its 2018 football preseason honors on Monday in conjunction with the start of Big Ten Media Days in Chicago.  A media panel selected the 10-member preseason list, with five representatives each from the East and West Divisions.

Two Badgers led the way in the vote of Western Division standouts.  Senior linebacker T.J. Edwards and sophomore running back Jonathan Taylor earned recognition.  They’re joined by Iowa junior tight end Noah Fant, Nebraska senior wide receiver Stanley Morgan Jr., and Northwestern sophomore linebacker Paddy Fisher.

Ohio State fielded a pair of honorees on the East Division roster, junior defensive end Nick Bosa and sophomore running back J.K. Dobbins.  Penn State was represented by senior quarterback and unanimous selection Trace McSorley.  Michigan junior defensive lineman Rashan Gary and Michigan State junior quarterback Brian Lewerke rounded out the East Division lineup.

Badgers add Peltonen to 2018 class

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Wisconsin men’s hockey coach Tony Granato has announced the signing of defenseman Jesper Peltonen to a National Letter of Intent.  Peltonen is expected to join the Badgers for the fall semester.

The 5’11, 180-pound defenseman skated for the USHL’s Omaha Lancers during the 2017-18 season and posted four goals and nine points in 56 games played.  He helped Omaha place second in the USHL’s Western Conference.  He also added a goal and two assists in four games of the playoffs, which tied for second on the team.

A Helsinki, Finland, native, Peltonen went to Northwood School in Lake Placid, New York, the same school that head coach Tony Granato attended, as well as current UW goaltender Johan Blomquist.

Peltonen’s father, Ville, played nearly 400 NHL games over eight seasons for San Jose, Nashville and Florida.  Ville is also a four-time Olympian for Finland, winning three bronze medals and a silver medal between 1994 and 2010.

Ellenwood Named Big Ten Field Athlete of the Year

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Georgia Ellenwood

After winning the Big Ten Conference and NCAA title in the heptathlon, Wisconsin women’s track and field senior Georgia Ellenwood has been named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Year.

The U.S. Track and Field and Cross Country Coaches Association Great Lakes Region Field Athlete of the Year, Ellenwood captured the Badgers’ first NCAA title in the heptathlon last week and was the only Big Ten Conference female student athlete to win a title at the 2018 NCAA Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  The Langley, British Columbia, native scored 6,146 points despite rainy conditions at Historic Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon.

Her NCAA performance followed up a record-breaking showing a the 2018 Big Ten Outdoor Track and Field Championships.  Ellenwood scored a conference record 6,173 points, the best score by a collegian this year in the heptathlon to win her third career Big Ten title.  That score ranks No. 5 on Canada’s all-time list, No. 10 on the NCAA all-time list and No. 12 in the world this year.

The announcement marks the second time in the last three years a Badger has earned the honor as Kelsey Card was named the Big Ten Women’s Field Athlete of the Year in 2016.

 

Badgers Banged Up On Defensive Front

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Garrett Rand

Wisconsin’s defense returns only four starters from a year ago and now they’re facing time without two key defensive ends.

Junior Garrett Rand suffered an Achilles injury during summer workouts and is facing the possibility of missing the entire 2018 season.

Another defender that figured into UW’s plans is redshirt sophomore Isaiahh Loudermilk, who underwent knee surgery this spring and could be looking at missing time as well.

Wisconsin coach Paul Chryst told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in River Falls, “Isaiahh is going through (rehab) and we’ll see where he is at with it.  Isaiahh has been doing more, which is good.”

“Garrett will be further away.  I haven’t gotten the official update.”

The Badgers are looking to replace three senior ends from last season, Alec James, Conor Sheehy and Chikwe Obasih.

Rand played in 28 games during his first two seasons and still has his red shirt available.

 

ACC/Big Ten women’s matchups announced Monday

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The matchups for the ACC/Big Ten Women’s Basketball Challenge were announced on Monday.  The annual challenge is offering 14 games for the fifth consecutive season.

The challenge takes place over two days in late November, beginning Wednesday, Nov. 28th, and continuing the following night.

Last year’s Challenge proved to be one of the most competitive in the event’s history, with 10 of the 14 games decided by 10 points or fewer, including four games decided by one point, with the ACC ultimately prevailing by a 10-4 count.  Last year, Maryland, Penn State, Rutgers and Wisconsin registered wins for the Big Ten.

The Big Ten sent six schools to the NCAA Tournament in 2018, as Iowa, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Nebraska and Ohio [Read more…]