Duke has made a splash in the transfer portal. The Blue Devils have landed the commitment of Wisconsin transfer guard John Blackwell, On3 has learned.
The pickup of Blackwell comes as a massive boost to Duke’s scoring for the 2026-27 season, as it is losing some major production. The Blue Devils’ two leading scorers — Cameron Boozer and Isaiah Evans — are expected to declare for the NBA Draft and become pros. Enter Blackwell.
Blackwell is coming off his best season statistically for the Badgers. He averaged 19.1 points per game on 44.1% shooting, including 37.5% shooting from beyond the arc. Blackwell hit 30+ points five times for Wisconsin this year on the team’s way to a No. 5 seed in the NCAA Tournament.
Blackwell has been considered one of the most coveted players in the transfer portal since announcing plans to enter on April 6. He had heavy interest from the likes of UCLA, Illinois and Louisville in the recruiting process, but in the end, it was Duke that won out for his services.
Now, Blackwell joins Jon Scheyer‘s program as the up-and-coming head coach looks to overcome his March woes and get Duke its sixth national championship in program history.
The news of Blackwell’s commitment comes along with the news that Cayden Boozer would be returning to Duke for his sophomore season. There had been speculation that Boozer could leave Duke with his older brother likely off to the NBA and how his season came to an end in the NCAA Tournament. But Boozer is looking to redeem himself from that brutal game-ending turnover and shot by UConn.
Boozer put up 7.7 points and 3.0 assists per game this season at Duke but stepped up in the postseason with Caleb Foster injured. Going back to the start of the ACC Tournament, Boozer averaged 13 points per game in the postseason. Despite his tough ending vs. UConn, Boozer still scored 15 points, dished out six assists and had five rebounds in the loss.
After Boozer announced his return, Duke got even better news in the coming days. Patrick Ngongba has also announced he will return to the Blue Devils after averaging 10.7 points along with a team-high 6.0 rebounds and 2.6 assists across 21.8 minutes per game this past season. Following that, Duke landed the commitment of Belmont transfer Drew Scharnowski.