Wisconsin
Wisconsin football 2025 spring transfer portal window departure, commitment tracker
The spring transfer portal window officially opened today, April 16. Wisconsin is sure to be active as it makes a final push to bolster its roster entering the 2025 season.
Most notably, the Badgers enter the period with significant needs on the offensive side of the football. While the team seemingly aced the winter portal window, just in the last few days it lost starting left tackle Kevin Heywood to a torn ACL, and starting tight end Tanner Koziol (reportedly) and top depth wide receiver Mark Hamper to the portal.
Both Koziol and Hamper were headliners of Wisconsin’s winter transfer class. As is the case in the current era of college football, winter commitments are nowhere close to guaranteed to be on the roster in Week 1.
With those departures and Heywood’s long-term injury, the Badgers would do well to find a fill-in at left tackle and a dynamic starting tight end. Replacing those projected starters may be easier said than done, however, as the two projected to be among the offensive unit’s top three or four players.
The spring portal window will remain open until April 25. Players have until that date to enter, while those in the portal have unlimited time to commit to a new program.
As the transfer window continues, here is an up-to-date tracker on all of Wisconsin’s incoming and outgoing movement:
(Last update: April 16, 7:50 a.m ET)
OUT: Wide receiver Quincy Burroughs
Burroughs was one of Wisconsin’s first transfer additions of the Luke Fickell era back in 2023, as he followed the head coach from Cincinnati. The veteran played sparingly during his two years with the program, totaling just five catches, 43 receiving yards and five special teams tackles. He was again projected as a depth option at wide receiver entering 2025, with significant talent and competition ahead of him in the room.
Here is more on Burroughs’ departure.
OUT: Wide receiver Mark Hamper
Hamper joined Wisconsin this winter with significant fanfare. The rising sophomore was a Freshman All-American at the Football Championship Subdivision level in 2024, totaling 48 catches, 966 receiving yards and six touchdowns. Fellow winter transfer wide receiver Jayden Ballard has reportedly been a spring session standout, meaning Hamper was likely to enter the season as a primary depth option. That may have instigated his transfer decision.
Here is more on Hamper’s departure.
OUT: Tight end Tanner Koziol (not yet official)
Koziol transferred in this winter after several standout seasons at Ball State, including a 94-catch, 839-yard, 8-touchdown 2024 campaign. He projected to be one of Wisconsin’s top receiving threats as new coordinator Jeff Grimes transitioned the program back to a pro-style offense. After just four months with the program, Koziol is reportedly off to a new destination.
Tucker Ashcraft is the next up at tight end. The position should rise near the top of Wisconsin’s transfer pursuits, as Ashcraft has just 20 total catches, 168 yards and two touchdowns over the last two seasons. Due to the lack of a top-end backup option, Koziol was one player Wisconsin couldn’t afford to lose.
Here is more on Koziol’s departure.
Contact/Follow @TheBadgersWire on X (formerly Twitter) and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Wisconsin Badgers news, notes and opinion
Wisconsin
Stepmom from hell accused of starving 35-pound teen daughter enters plea — could spend the rest of her life behind bars
The Wisconsin stepmother from hell accused of abusing her 35-pound 14-year-old daughter by depriving her of food and water has entered a no-contest plea in the twisted case.
Melissa Goodman, 52, now faces up to 46 years in prison if she’s handed the maximum sentence for charges of chronic neglect causing great bodily harm, chronic neglect causing emotional damage and false imprisonment.
She’s set to be sentenced on July 1.
Goodman, along with husband Walter Goodman, has been accused of starving her autistic stepdaughter.
Goodman’s daughter Savanna Goodman and her girlfriend Kayla Stemler were also charged over the alleged abuse, People reported.
The family is accused of locking the teen in a bedroom without a mattress, restricting her to only her room for years and depriving her of food and water, according to Wisconsin prosecutors.
The mobile home they lived in became a house of horrors for the teenager, who was mistaken for a 6-year-old when she was found by cops in August 2025 and rushed to the hospital.
Walter Goodman, the victim’s father, called 911 to report that his daughter was lethargic and ill.
Responding officers found her weighing just 35 pounds; she was hospitalized with multi-organ dysfunction, including respiratory failure and pancreatitis.

From 2020 until August 2025, the victim, whose name is not disclosed because she is a minor, was allegedly isolated in a trailer on Hattie Lane, in Oneida, Wisconsin.
Extended family members were told she was away on vacation or with other relatives to explain her absence.
Wisconsin
‘Song Sung Blue’ subject Claire Sardina playing Wisconsin State Fair
When “Song Sung Blue” – the biopic about Milwaukee Neil Diamond tribute act Lightning & Thunder – had a premiere at the Oriental Theatre in Milwaukee last December, star Hugh Jackman gave Claire Sardina (played in the film by Kate Hudson) an engraved bench honoring Lighting & Thunder to be installed at Wisconsin State Fair Park.
In August, Sardina will get to have a seat on that bench – and sing again on a State Fair stage.
Sardina will perform with tribute act So Good: The Neil Diamond Experience Aug. 9 at the Bank Five Nine Amphitheater, the largest stage at the fair featuring free concerts with admission.
For Sardina, it will be a return to a place central to Lighting & Thunder. The band performed in the Milwaukee area from 1989 until Mike Sardina, aka Lightning, passed away in 2006. The State Fair was one of their favorite places to play, and the couple got married there in 1994.
The couple’s wild story – from a performance at a Pearl Jam Summerfest concert to major health issues – was the subject of the documentary “Song Sung Blue” that inspired the biopic, and earned Hudson an Oscar nomination for portraying Claire Sardina.
Fair officials May 8 revealed the full headliner lineup for the stage, which includes:
- Aug. 6: Sixteen Candles
- Aug. 7 and 8: Here Come The Mummies
- Aug. 10 and 11: Herman’s Hermits starring Peter Noone
- Aug. 12: Hairbangers Ball
- Aug. 13: Too Hype Crew
- Aug. 14: The Gufs
- Aug. 15: Let’s Sing Taylor – An Unofficial Live Tribute Show
- Aug. 16: Pat McCurdy
All Bank Five Nine Amphitheater concerts are included with fair admission.
The lineup is also nearly complete for the Bank Five Nine Main Stage, with just a show on Aug. 11 to be announced.
Tickets are on sale for these shows at wistatefair.com and include same-day fair admission:
- Aug. 6: Hairball
- Aug. 7: Nelly
- Aug. 8: Bailey Zimmerman with Chandler Walters
- Aug. 9: Wynonna Judd and Melissa Etheridge
- Aug. 10: For King + Country with Rachel Lampa
- Aug. 12: John Mulaney
- Aug. 13: The All-American Rejects with Joyce Manor
- Aug. 14: Lindsey Stirling with PVRIS
- Aug. 15: AJR with Em Beihold
- Aug. 16: The Beach Boys
Wisconsin
Wisconsin universities and schools impacted by Canvas data breach
WAUSAU, Wis. (WSAW/GRAY NEWS) – A ransomware group has claimed to have breached the learning management system Canvas, possibly exposing the personal information of students, teachers and staff across the country.
According to a statement from the Universities of Wisconsin website, they were notified of a nationwide security breach experienced by Instructure, the provider of Canvas. Universities of Wisconsin schools use the cloud-based management system.
UW-Stevens Point tells NewsChannel 7 they have not confirmed UWSP was involved in the breach, but did send communication that Canvas was down and students should not perform any asked actions if prompted, as it may not be legitimate while Canvas is down.
Instructure, the parent company of Canvas, posted on May 1 about a cybersecurity incident that had been reported and was under investigation.
The next day, Chief Information Security Officer Steve Proud wrote that the information involved in the attack included names, student ID numbers, messages between users and email addresses.
“At this time, we have found no evidence that passwords, dates of birth, government identifiers, or financial information were involved. If that changes, we will notify any impacted institutions,” he wrote.
The Wausau School District sent a letter to parents Wednesday regarding the cybersecurity incident. They said there is no evidence that passwords, single-sign-on credentials, financial information or social security numbers were impacted. They stressed that type of information is not stored in Canvas.
Click here to download the WSAW news app or WSAW First Alert weather app.
Click here to submit a news tip or story idea.
Copyright 2026 WSAW. All rights reserved.
-
Finance4 minutes agoBofA revises Harley-Davidson stock price after latest announcement
-
Fitness10 minutes agoStrategic Exercise Techniques to Maximize Mood Elevation – The Boca Raton Tribune
-
Movie Reviews22 minutes ago1986 Movie Reviews – Dangerously Close, Fire with Fire, Last Resort, and Short Circuit | The Nerdy
-
World34 minutes agoTop 50 English-language news sites in the world in April: Just three newsbrands grow traffic in past month
-
News40 minutes agoThe New Harvard Trend? Getting Punched in the Face.
-
Politics46 minutes agoWhich Trump Tariffs Are in Place, in the Works or Ruled Illegal
-
Business52 minutes agoChina’s Exports and Imports Set Records in April Amid High Energy Costs
-
Science58 minutes agoVideo: Pentagon Releases U.F.O. Files