Over the course of the summer leading up to Big Ten Media Days and fall camp, Badgers On SI will extensively preview Wisconsin football's roster with a write-up for each player expected to be remotely involved in 2026.We continue the series with one of three incoming transfers from Oklahoma State, center Ausin Kawecki. 2025 Stats12 games, 12 starts (11 at center, one at right guard)Overview After a dismal year for the center position in Madison that saw starter Jake Renfro miss all but four games due to multiple injuries and backup Ryan Cory completely flop, the Badgers needed an experienced, plug-and-play starter at center via the transfer portal. They got just that in Kawecki. The former Cowboy is coming of his first year as a full-time starter in Stillwater. He held down the center spot for what was a largely abysmal Oklahoma State offense, but he himself had a strong year. Kawecki wasn't a dominant center last fall. He's not overly physically imposing, and he didn't put defensive linemen into the dirt rep after rep after rep. But he was consistently a force for good in the middle of the Cowboys' offensive line. He provided steady, consistently play most snaps, and if he can carry that over to Madison, it would be a welcome change from the sheer chaos at the position last fall. “It was the most important thing we did, was get him," new offensive line coach Eric Mateos said this spring. "What’s maybe the negative with our group right now? We don’t have as many skins on the wall, and we haven’t been in as many wars as individual players as some other groups. So to me, if you’re in that situation, you have to find a veteran center, a guy that has been in those, that can communicate, understands the calls and adjustments you’re making," he continued. Best-Case ScenarioWisconsin's offensive line huddles up at spring practice. | Christian Borman. Wisconsin doesn't need to have the best center in the Big Ten. But it could sure use a steady hand at the position, someone who won't send shotgun snaps flying over the head of his quarterback and consistently get out-muscled up front. Obviously, if Kawecki happens to become one of the Big Ten's premier centers, that would be more than welcome in Madison. Given his age and Power Four experience, it's certainly not out of the question, and that's obviously the best-case scenario. But the Badgers would be happy with slightly above-average center play and someone who steadies the entire offensive line. In a perfect world for Kawecki and Wisconsin, he wastes no time settling in and is the exact plug-and-play center the Badgers envisioned when they nabbed him out of the transfer portal. “That’s something I always take a lot of pride in, having a great relationship with the center. We’re very demanding of them, put a lot on their plate," Mateos said. "I think he’s done a really good job, I’m really glad we have him, it was really important to get him.”Worst-Case Scenario It wasn't hyperbole when Mateos called Kawecki "the most important thing we did." The center is one of a few of players who, if he were to go down with an injury, would severely handicap this offense. As mentioned, Wisconsin's projected backup Ryan Cory didn't look up to the task last season.But barring an injury, Wisconsin's worst nightmare with Kawecki involves him flopping in the Big Ten, where the lines of scrimmage are a different kind of grind than much of the Big 12. Again, given his age and pedigree, that seems more unlikely than not. Prediction For me, Kawecki is one of the more straightforward projections on this roster. He's been penciled in as the starting center since he arrived in Madison, and that's not going to change. I see Kawecki as a true plug-and-play, and he should vastly raise the floor of not just the center position, not just the entire offensive line but the entire offense. I have a feeling Badgers fans are going to be pleasantly surprised when they're remined what a competent center can do for an offense. Outside of quarterback Colton Joseph, Kawecki is arguably Wisconsin's most important player for 2026. Add us as a preferred source on GoogleFollow