MONROE — On Dec. 16, just minutes after finishing up his school day, Monroe senior JT Seagreaves signed his National Letter of Intent to play college football for the Wisconsin Badgers. The ceremony, held in the high school gymnasium in front of scores of family, friends, coaches and community supporters, came about six months after Seagreaves verbally committed to the program. 

“It feels great to get it officially signed off. It feels like another big step in the process,” Seagreaves said. “It’s sort of a surreal feeling. It’s hard to believe that all this has happened. It’s great to be able to have the community be able to come out and support me and set something up like this.”

Seagreaves has been a highly sought athlete in multiple sports. He was on varsity in football and basketball as a freshman, and was a state qualifier in track and field as a freshman and junior — with his sophomore season canceled because of the initial COVID-19 outbreak. 

In basketball, Seagreaves is nearing the 1,000-point threshold and is among the program’s all-time rebounding leaders. He received interest and playing offers from multiple NCAA Division II schools. In track, he excels both in the high jump and in the sprint races.

But it was his performance in a football camp in 2021 that caught the eye of Wisconsin’s football coaches.

During the very short, 5-game spring season in 2021, Seagreaves was a defensive menace to opposing teams and was voted as the Rock Valley Conference Defensive Player of the Year. Split out on the outside as a wide receiver, between his height and speed he routinely took away 2-3 defenders despite Monroe passing only about five times a game.

At a summer workout with the Badgers, Seagreaves impressed the coaches enough to bring him back for a second look. He already had interest from rival schools like Iowa, and a scholarship offer from mid-major Illinois State, and the Badgers decided to pounce — offering Seagreaves a scholarship in hopes he can develop into a game-changing tight end.

This past fall season, Seagreaves moved inside from wide receiver to a running back role for the first time and ran for just shy of 1,300 yards and 16 touchdowns. He was a first-team all-conference player on both offense and defense, and was first-team all-state on the defensive line.

“We’re very proud of him, and we’re also very proud of his accomplishments,” Monroe coach Toby Golembiewski said.

While Seagreaves was starring on the gridiron for the Cheesemakers, Wisconsin coaches kept in touch with him. During an official visit for a game this fall, Seagreaves said he knew Madison was the right place for him.

“I think everything that I’ve seen from up there I’ve liked and enjoyed. All the time I’ve spent with all the coaches and other players and recruits has been fun,” Seagreaves said. “One of the coaches has tried to contact me every week to check in on my sports or if I was going to the game that week (at Camp Randall).”

Seagreaves will be the first former Cheesemaker to suit up for the Badgers on scholarship since Brian Lamont in the late 1990s. 

Golembiewski reflected to the attending crowd that similarly to the “Butterfly Effect”, everyone that was a part of JT’s life led to this moment.

“We also need to be proud of ourselves as a group, because when they look at kids for these situations, they are going to go off of his individual talents — and physically he’s definitely at that level — but it’s everybody in this room and this community that has a lot to be proud of,” Golembiewski said. “To be a part of his teams, his education, a part of his family and everything that guided him and the rest of our students on this journey. Anywhere along the line, if those things aren’t connected, this doesn’t end up happening.”