Wisconsin’s 2027 class the best in state history?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Will the extremely talented class of 2027 go down as one of the best in the history of Wisconsin high school basketball?</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>It's definitely a possibility. <br><br>Consider the following eye-popping facts:<br><br>1) No less than 11 prospects from 2027 already have committed to NCAA Division I programs and the 2026-27 school year is still a month and half or so away;<br><br>2) The top five prospects in the class have selected their college destinations and all five are headed to Power Five programs;<br><br>3) The list of Division I players in the state's loaded 2027 class will only grow as another five-to-eight players figure to pick their DI options in the coming weeks;<br><br>4. Six players from the state currently are listed among the top 100 in the On3/Rivals national rankings for the 2027 class, including two inside the top 15 in No. 11 [player_tooltip player_id='2194315' first='Dooney' last='Johnson'] (6-6) of Milwaukee Juneau and No. 13 [player_tooltip player_id='2140949' first='Kager' last='Knueppel'] (6-10) of Wisconsin Lutheran;<br><br>5) All six state players ranked among the top 100 in the country compete for the [program_tooltip program_id='2391400' first='Team' last='Herro'] club program looking at making a serious run at the championship of the prestigious Peach Jam event this upcoming weekend;<br><br>6) And, finally, most of the top 15 or so prospects in the state's 2027 class in the<a href="https://prephoops.com/wisconsin/rankings/2027-rankings/" id="prephoops.com/wisconsin/rankings/2027-rankings/"> Prep Hoops Player Rankings</a> received multiple DI offers from schools in the Midwest and beyond.<br><br>Two classes in the state immediately come to mind that could potentially challenge 2027 as perhaps the best in state history. <br><br>a) The 2013 class had its top seven players all commit to Power 5 programs in Duane Wilson of Dominican to Marquette, Matt Thomas of Onalaska to Iowa State, Luke Fischer of Germantown to Indiana, Bronson Koenig of Aquinas to Wisconsin, Deonte Burton of Milwaukee Vincent to Marquette, Nick Fuller of Sun Prairie to Nebraska and Toby Hegner of Berlin to Creighton. While all seven certainly had strong performances in college only Thomas made it to the NBA. <br><br>b) The 2028 class saw its top five prospects commit to Power 5 programs in Joey Hauser of Stevens Point to Marquette, Tyler Herro of Whitnall to Kentucky, Jordan McCabe of Kaukauna to West Virginia, Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh North to Iowa State and John Diener of Cedarburg to DePaul. Herro and Haliburton, of course, are now stars in the NBA. <br><br>At this point, it appears the DI players in the state's 2027 class will remain home and compete for their high school teams rather than take the out-of-state prep school route. That could potentially change, but thus far Wisconsin has avoided a mass exodos to prep schools, unlike neighboring states Illinois and, to a lesser degree, Minnesota. <br><br>Of the committed Power 5 players in the state, just one plans to play college basketball in Wisconsin as [player_tooltip player_id='2288469' first='Jalen' last='Brown'] (6-5) of Wauwatosa West recently committed to the University of Wisconsin. Johnson is headed to Gonzaga, Knueppel will play at Duke and [player_tooltip player_id='1847792' first='Donovan' last='Davis'] (6-8) of Freedom and [player_tooltip player_id='2351190' first='Jack' last='Kohnen'] (6-6) of Slinger are both headed to Iowa State. <br><br>No. 6-ranked [player_tooltip player_id='2371700' first='Deuce' last='McDuffie'] (6-6) of Nicolet figures to become the sixth player in 2027's class to verbally commit to a Power 5 program as he currently holds offers from De Paul, TCU, Wake Forest, West Virginia and Wisconsin. <br><br>The next two players in the Prep Hoops Player Rankings have exploded this spring on the club circuit as No. 7 [player_tooltip player_id='2140913' first='Eli' last='Krueger'] (6-10) of McFarland and No. 8 [player_tooltip player_id='2508313' first='Evan' last='Ploeckelman'] (6-7) of Mukwonago both earned multiple scholarship offers from strong mid-major DI programs since the end of the high school season. <br><br>Wisconsin native Matt Majkrzak was named the head coach at Northern Illinois last spring and wasted no time in landing no less than four players from Wisconsin's loaded 2027 class in [player_tooltip player_id='2127267' first='Zeak' last='Jones'] (6-3) of Dominican, [player_tooltip player_id='2138098' first='Michael' last='Rogers Jr.'] (6-0) of Homestead, [player_tooltip player_id='2505503' first='Will' last='Stremlow'] (6-4) of Verona and [player_tooltip player_id='2140876' first='Austin' last='Luchetti'] (6-7) of Monona Grove. <br><br>Two additional players from the 2027 class also have committed to DI programs with [player_tooltip player_id='2140905' first='Colin' last='Julien'] (6-3) of Whitefish Bay headed to St. Thomas and [player_tooltip player_id='2411648' first='Charlie' last='Hoel'] (6-9) of Stanley-Boyd journeying to North Dakota State. <br><br>It would be difficult to find a class in state history with more talent, more depth and more DI prospects than 2027, which is a testament to the growing talent in the state, the excellent coaching at the youth, prep and club levels, and the strong commitment to succeed of the players. Enjoy the class while you can. We aren't likely to see another one this gifted in a long time. <br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->