Wisconsin football lands Florida State transfer CB Cai Bates
Former Florida State cornerback Cai Bates has committed to the Wisconsin Badgers via the transfer portal.
The Wisconsin football staff continued adding to its secondary through the transfer portal, bringing in another piece with pedigree and upside.
That addition is Cai Bates, who has committed to the Badgers after transferring from Florida State. Bates arrives in Madison with three years of eligibility remaining and the recruiting pedigree that immediately stands out as Wisconsin’s coaching staff continues to reload on the back end.
Bates stands at 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds and was one of the more highly regarded cornerbacks in the 2024 recruiting class. Coming out of Edgewater High School in Orlando (FL.), he was viewed nationally as a top-100 prospect.
He received more than 40 scholarship offers from programs at Alabama, LSU, Miami, Texas A&M, Ohio State, Indiana, Ole Miss, Florida, Michigan, and Penn State before choosing Florida State.
His time with the Seminoles was about development.
Bates appeared in three games as a true freshman in 2024 while redshirting, then saw action in seven games during the 2025 season as a redshirt freshman, primarily in a reserve role and on special teams. His counting stats were limited — one solo tackle on the season — but the fact that Bates saw the field at Florida State right away is notable.
According to Pro Football Focus, Bates logged 26 defensive snaps last season and finished with a 61.3 overall defensive grade, including a 60.0 mark against the run and a 60.8 coverage grade. He was targeted twice in coverage, allowing one catch for five yards, and spent the majority of his snaps lined up on the outside. In total, Bates has appeared in 10 college football games across two seasons at Florida State, gaining exposure to high-level competition while continuing to develop and refine his game.
This is a projection-based acquisition.
Wisconsin and cornerbacks coach Robert Steeples aren’t bringing Bates in as a finished product, far from it. They’re betting on his impressive size, length, recruiting pedigree, and the developmental runway that could potentially come with three years of eligibility in the program. At 6-foot-2 with natural press-corner traits, Bates fits the profile of the boundary cornerbacks the Badgers have prioritized as they rebuild the secondary.
Context matters here, too.
Bates joins a secondary that has undergone significant turnover and transition this offseason. Wisconsin has already added Eric Fletcher from Oklahoma State and safety Carson Van Dinter from Iowa State, while also returning young pieces like Omillio Agard, Cairo Skanes, Jahmare Washington, and a pair of incoming freshmen from the 2026 class. The result is a room that’s young, wide open, and still very much taking shape.
Under Steeples and secondary coach Paul Haynes, there’s been a clear emphasis on length, athletic traits, and upside. Bates fits squarely into that vision. He may not be a surefire starter on Day 1, but he enters a room where snaps are not locked up, and playmaking is the top priority.
For Wisconsin, this is about stacking talent and giving the staff options. For Bates, it’s a chance to reset, continue developing his game, and see how far his tools can carry him in a system that’s actively searching for answers on the outside following the departures of Ricardo Hallman, Nyzier Fourqurean, D’Yoni Hill, and Geimere Latimer. It’s not the biggest move of the portal cycle, but it’s the kind of addition that can quietly pay off over time as the secondary continues to be rebuilt from the ground up.
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