Wisconsin Lutheran senior Zavier Zens has become one of the surprising late additions to the 2026 college basketball recruiting class after requesting his release from an NLI with Northern Iowa on March 30.
The 6-foot-7 senior had visits with Utah State, Illinois and Wisconsin over the past weekend, which he recapped with the Journal Sentinel on April 14.
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The first of those visits came with Utah State on April 10, whose new head coach Ben Jacobson’s departure from Northern Iowa spurred Zens’ request for a release from his NLI.
“It’s a really special place, and basketball’s really special out there to them and all the fans. It was really great to be there and see all the mountains. They sell out every game. It’s just a super cool program that is also a good program, going in the Pac-12,” Zens said.
Former Northern Iowa sophomore and De Pere native Will Hornseth entered the transfer portal and ultimately signed with Utah State on April 10 to join Jacobson for his junior season. Hornseth and Zens did cross paths during the latter’s visit. The familiarity with Hornseth, as well as fellow Class of 2026 recruit Jordan Boyd, makes Utah State a “more tempting” option, according to Zens. Boyd is a Missouri native who originally signed with Jacobson at Northern Iowa before flipping this week to Utah State as well.
“Will is a great guy along with Jordan … so I’m glad they’re going there, and I know I’d have a fun experience with them and be cool about being teammates with them,” Zens said.
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The following day, Zens was in Champaign, Illinois, for a visit with an Illinois program fresh off a Final Four appearance. Zens said he was impressed by the Illini’s track record for developing players into NBA prospects, along with the campus and facilities.
“Nothing not to like about Illinois,” Zens said. “Immediately when my recruitment opened up, they were on the phone with me and they were on top of things. Even in the week they were going to the Final Four, they were watching games of me on Hudl or wherever they could find it, and that just meant a lot to me that they would sacrifice super important time before the Final Four to recruit me.”
A whirlwind of visits concluded closest to home in Madison, where Zens made an official visit with Wisconsin. He had made an unofficial visit last summer with the program, but his return allowed him the opportunity to meet more assistant coaches on Greg Gard’s staff, along with returning 6-foot-10 forward Austin Rapp.
“It’s pretty cool because all of those guys are former, most of them, are former Wisconsin guys,” Zens said of the assistant staff. “They were just amazing, outstanding guys, who were super fun to be around. People I could see playing for and love being around.”
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Despite some interest from other programs, Zens is narrowing his choice to the three he just visited. As far as timeframe, a decision could very well be coming inside of the week.
“As soon as I know, personally. Like this is a really, really tough choice for me, so I’m trying to figure it out and get a bunch of advice from other people, but I’m trying to figure it out, so as soon as I know. Hopefully a day or two,” Zens said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Wisconsin Lutheran star Zavier Zens recaps recent college visits
