Class of 2026 athlete Nasir Rankin included the Wisconsin Badgers in his list of 11 finalists on Saturday.
The Badgers made the cut for his top schools along with Michigan, Ole Miss, North Carolina, Northwestern, Nebraska, Duke, Kansas State, Illinois, Oregon and USC.
This story is headlined by more than just Wisconsin making Rankin’s list of finalists, however. As of now, the Badgers appear to be a two-school race with the in-state Illinois Fighting Illini to land his commitment. Wisconsin and Illinois are the two programs that 247Sports currently labels with heightened interest.
The recruiting service lists the top prospect as a four-star recruit, ranked as the No. 78 player in the class of 2026, No. 9 athlete and No. 1 recruit from his home state of Illinois.
Illinois appears to have the upper hand at the moment, as one crystal ball prediction is already logged for Rankin to choose Bret Bielema and the Illini. That prediction came from Illinois insider Jeremy Werner on Jan. 24, 2025, and was given with a ‘medium’ confidence level.
Rankin would be a possible class headliner for Wisconsin. The Badgers are in the early stages of compiling their class of 2026, looking to build off of consecutive top 25 finishes in the 2024 and 2025 cycles. Rankin is the highest-ranked player that Wisconsin is currently trending for. If the Badgers can beat the Illini for his commitment, he’d become the program’s second-highest commit of the Luke Fickell era, following class of 2024 OT Kevin Heywood (No. 50 in the nation).
Wisconsin currently has just one player committed to its class of 2026. It’s worth monitoring Rankin’s recruitment as that number inevitably changes over the next weeks and months. The Badgers will have to stare down former coach Bret Bielema in what may become a high-profile recruiting battle.
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This article originally appeared on Badgers Wire: Wisconsin football recruiting 2026 Nasir Rankin top schools Illinois
