Wisconsin’s 2026 Recruiting Woes Continue: LB CJ Sanna Chooses Ohio State
The Wisconsin football team has been in the mix for a lot of their top targets in the 2026 recruiting class but have struggled to close the deal on them. The latest recruit to commit elsewhere is 3-star linebacker CJ Sanna.
Sanna, from Lewis Center, Ohio, committed to Badgers’ Big Ten foe, Ohio State. The Badgers also recently fell short in the pursuit of Sanna’s teammate, safety Keden Gebhardt, who committed to Clemson just a few weeks ago.
It’s not all too surprising that a player from Ohio decided to stay home and play for the Buckeyes, especially after they just won the National Championship. But Fickell and his staff have recruited Ohio hard since he has been leading the Wisconsin football program, grabbing players like Nolan Davenport, Jamier Scott, and Drayden Pavey all in the 2025 class.
The new Buckeye is a composite 3-star player, but is widely considered an underrated prospect who has some high upside. According to 247Sports composite, Sanna is the 449th-overall ranked prospect in the country, the 35th-ranked linebacker, and 40th in the state of Ohio.
He held 25 Division I offers from plenty of Power 4 schools such as Wisconsin, Ohio State, Indiana, Miami, Maryland, Kentucky, among many more.
So there are still just two players committed to Wisconsin in the 2026 cycle, 3-star offensive lineman Benjamin Novak and 3-star receiver Tayshon Bardo. There is still plenty of ‘ballgame left’ for the staff to start adding some players to their 2026 class, especially with official visit season around the corner in May and June.
