At the annual Red-White scrimmage on Oct. 19, Wisconsin Badgers men’s basketball fans got a glimpse of what the 2025-26 rendition of the team will look like.
Although this scrimmage doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things, it served as a meaningful preview for the season to come.
The Badgers, at No. 24, are preseason ranked for the first time since 2020-21, when they started the season ranked No. 7 in the country. Last season, they started unranked and ended the year ranked No. 16 in the country after an appearance in the NCAA Tournament as a No. 3 seed.
Over the offseason, Wisconsin retained star guard John Blackwell, who tested NBA Draft waters this spring. He averaged 15.8 pts and 2.2 assists per game on 45% shooting from the field for the Badgers this season and looks to improve upon a 32.2% three point percentage this season. Head coach Greg Gard will now hand Blackwell the keys to the team, with last season’s star guard John Tonje now with the NBA’s Utah Jazz.
Center Nolan Winter, who averaged 9.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game on 56.4% shooting also returns.
Winter, slated at 53rd on ESPN’s 2026 NBA Mock Draft, is also generating NBA buzz. With Steven Crowl now gone after five seasons at Wisconsin, Gard will hand the front court over to the seven foot Winter. Winter showcased his ability as a stretch four last year, shooting 35.8% from three. And after bulking up over this offseason, he looks to exude a tougher defensive presence and become more of a rebounding force.
“This offseason was huge for me in the weight room, really being able to put some muscle on and be able to hold my own down there. I think I’ve done a good job with that, and I like where I’m at. I’m looking forward to stepping into that and holding my own down there,” Winter said.
Wisconsin also made big splashes in the transfer portal this offseason, acquiring guards Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde and Braedon Carrington, as well as center Austin Rapp.
Four new freshmen also got a chance to showcase their skills in the showcase, including Aleksas Bieliauskas and Will Garlock, both one of whom could get immediate minutes in the frontcourt as backups for Rapp and Winter.
Bieliauskas fits perfectly in this offense, as his European game from the pros translates to this system. He’s a 6’ 9” stretch four from Lithuania who can get hot from three, shooting 39% from behind the arc in Lithuania last year. Garlock on the other hand is a true seven footer and offers a traditional rim-running big ability with great athleticism that isn’t offered by anyone else on this roster.
Gard and his assistants have had high praise for both youngsters. “I think Bieliauskas and [Hayden] Jones, because of their international and their playing experience, has put them [ahead] of, maybe not ahead of Will [Garlock] or Zach [Kinziger], but just ahead of your normal freshman... Will specifically, bring something that we don’t have a lot of, and haven’t had a rim runner guy that big that can move like that in a while,” Gard said before the season.
Gard also expressed how confident he is in this roster’s depth, giving him the ability to use a 10 to 12 man rotation. It begs the question whether this is the deepest roster he’s had to work with since taking over as head coach in 2016.
The starting lineup, unlike previous years, seems to be a lock. Boyd will start at point guard, a position the Badgers lacked in general last season, which can unlock a new level for this offense. John Blackwell will go back to back his traditional slashing shooting guard role.
Rohde will be the third and final guard in the lineup. He will serve as the glue guy — as both an amazing shooter (41.3 3PT% on 3.5 attempts per game) and passer (25.0 AST%). Rohde could improve defensively, however. But there is hope for improvement, as Gard has proved his worth as a defensive coach.
Rapp and Winter will be the two forwards. Both are above average shooters for their size, which Wisconsin hopes will cause trouble for opposing defenders. However, the two need to prove themselves as interior defenders, as well as rebounders.
When it comes to Gard’s bench, there seems to be less certainty.
The Badgers will miss the bench unit they enjoyed last season, which was led by point guard Kamari McGee and forward Carter Gilmore. Both veterans exemplified great experience on the court and in the locker room.
The Badgers will be able to count on redshirt sophomore guard Jack Janicki, who showed some flashes offensively last season alongside great defensive hustle.
Carrington, a 6’5” experienced guard who played at Minnesota and Tulsa over the past two seasons will offer Big Ten experience and grit off the bench.
Carrington averaged 7.4 points and 4.8 rebounds per game at Tulsa last season. Carrington could arguably be the best perimeter defender on this team, but what will make or break his season is whether he can become consistent from three.
Deeper on the bench is 6’6” sophomore Jack Robison, a guard that played sparingly last year but is a great lefty shooter. He fits in this system and Gard loves developing wings that can shoot the ball well.
Zach Kinziger, an incoming freshman shooting guard from De Pere, Wisconsin was a lights out shooter in high school who could see some playing time as a true freshman.
Freshman guard Hayden Jones will also put up a fight for minutes. The 6’6” Jones has great size for a guard and can play make and shoot.
Ultimately this team has lots of potential. The starting five is loaded with talented returning players and transfers. The biggest questions remain centered around the bench, which holds plenty of potential but also remains somewhat of an unknown because of its lack of meaningful minutes.
This will decide whether Wisconsin can once again challenge for the top of the Big Ten or just be a fringe tournament team.
Many of the analytics favor the badgers. As we saw last year, this high tempo offense that lives off the three pointer is very fun to watch and caught national attention. They’re ranked 20th in KenPom, 29th in BarTovik and 34th in EvanMiya’s preseason rankings. The only skepticism for many of these analytical metrics is their defense, which they will have to improve from last year if they hope to make it past the first weekend of the NCAA Tournament.
I see their depth as a double-edged sword, the success of that second unit will be in the hands of four true freshmen, specifically the two bigs Bieliauskas and Garlock. If they play their role well, the badgers will have not only a great present but a promising future. If they’re not physically ready, outmatched and bullied, the Badgers will ultimately fall short in many matchups.
