Isaac Wodajo enters his second year as the director of recruiting and scouting for the Wisconsin men's basketball program after being hired in June 2024.
During his first year in 2024-25, Wodajo helped the Badgers in high school and international recruiting, transfer portal recruiting, scouting opponents, film breakdown, and player development. The season was one of the best in the Greg Gard era leading to 27 wins, three seed in the NCAA Tournament, Second Team All-American, John Tonje (53rd pick in the 2025 NBA Draft), and All-Big Ten performer, John Blackwell.
In recruiting, Wodajo (Wuh-Dah-Joe) organized the on-campus visits and assisted the staff in the transfer portal and in international recruiting. He helped sign three four-star transfers from the portal, along with two four-star international prospects, according to On3sports and 247Sports. At Wisconsin, Wodajo directs recruiting oversight, scouting, on-campus visits, recruit evaluation throughout the country, and helps in player development, while also assisting Gard and the staff in all areas of the program. He brings coaching experience from various levels in basketball; through high school, the Big 12 conference, junior college, and the Horizon League.
Wodajo joined Wisconsin after most recently serving as special assistant to the head coach at Northern Kentucky University on the staff of Darrin Horn during the 2023-24 season. He helped the head coach in all areas of the program, including recruiting, scouting, film breakdown, academics, and player development.
"We are excited to welcome Isaac to our staff and having him in this position makes Wisconsin basketball stronger," Gard said. "Since the offseason began, I have worked to evaluate the changes in college athletics while making sure that the makeup of our staff best fits the various needs of our program. Isaac has a standout work ethic, and he has gained invaluable experience at a variety of schools in a number of areas of the game – coaching, operations, scouting, and recruiting – making him an excellent fit for our program. I've watched Isaac grow in the profession from afar and have been impressed with his early rise and the steps he's taken in his career thus far. Isaac understands what has made Wisconsin successful both on and off the court and will help us continue to compete at a championship level."
During the 2022-23 season, Wodajo served as head coach at Division I JUCO Wabash Valley College in Mount Carmel, Illinois. His team ended the season with wins in seven of their final nine games, including a victory over No. 10 nationally ranked Vincennes University, en route to a 17-13 record overall.
Prior to his time leading the Warrior program, Wodajo was an assistant coach for three seasons at Wabash Valley, where the team achieved 53 total wins at the JUCO level (two full seasons and one shortened season due to the COVID-19 pandemic). During his entire tenure, he recruited and coached eight NCAA Division I signees and assisted in the development of nine players who were selected as All-Region and All-Conference student-athletes. As an assistant, Wodajo served as the program's offensive coordinator and lead scout for every opponent.
Wodajo worked as a graduate assistant for two seasons at the University of Texas under head coach Shaka Smart from 2017-19. Having a hand in player development, he worked with two NBA Draft lottery picks at Texas in Mo Bamba and Jaxson Hayes, 2nd round NBA Draft pick Jericho Sims, and seven other Texas Longhorns that earned Big 12 All-Conference honors.
Wodajo also coached 2022 ACC Player of the Year, Alondes Williams (Wake Forest), and three other NCAA Division I signees while serving as varsity assistant coach at Milwaukee Riverside High School where he began his coaching career in 2016-17, while working at a Financial Group in the Milwaukee area.
A native of Milwaukee, Wodajo earned his Master of Education from the University of Texas at Austin in 2019 and his Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in 2015. He played varsity basketball for three years at Milwaukee Riverside High School, earning all-conference and all-area honors.
