In-State 3-Star LB Ben Wenzel Commits to Badgers

Originally posted on Athlon Sports | By Christian Borman | Last updated Jun 1, 2025 6:25 PM ET

The first official visit weekend for the Wisconsin football team is already paying dividends. The Badgers hosted 16 of their top targets this weekend. One of them was in-state linebacker Ben Wenzel.

Wenzel, a 3-star prospect out of Appleton North High School, committed to his home-state Wisconsin Badgers, making him the first Wisconsin-native in Wisconsin's 2026 recruiting class.

Wenzel has been considered a favorite for the Badgers for a while, but just recently Oklahoma came out of nowhere and offered the 6-3, 215-pound linebacker. The Sooners' offer was reportedly a serious threat to the Badgers. So a couple of weeks later, the Badgers offered him.

Ultimately, the home team won out. Wenzel announced his commitment to the Badgers on his X account.

I'M STAYING HOME ❤️ #commited #badgers @CoachFick @TufBorland @CoachMikeTress @PatLambert13 @Wi_Recruiting @ANLightningFB @AllenTrieu @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/5AKpNyCZYn
— (@wenzel_ben7) June 1, 2025

According to the 247Sports Composite, Wenzel is the 109th-ranked linebacker in the country. He is the 1,250th-ranked player nationally and the 5th-ranked player in the 2026 class out of Wisconsin. The other four players have already committed to play outside of Wisconsin.

The 3-star linebacker shows some nice instincts in his film. He does a nice job of keeping his eyes in the backfield, locating the ball carrier and filling the gaps. He does a nice job in pursuit of runners too, taking good angles and not giving up on plays.

Wenzel could be another sneaky get for the Badgers, who have a long history of developing linebackers who weren't highly-rated coming out of high school into solid contributors to the program.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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