Normally, the Mid-American Conference's (MAC) post-season tournament isn’t a major story in the college basketball world. Most fans and major media outlets are gearing up for March Madness, but one of the sport’s biggest stories last year came from a MAC team out of Oxford, Ohio.
In the 2025-26 men’s basketball season, the Miami University RedHawks achieved national prominence, as they posted a perfect 31-0 undefeated regular season record in the MAC. Though the RedHawks lost in the first round of the MAC tournament, they earned an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament and scored a First Four win over Southern Methodist University (SMU).
At the heart of this remarkable regular season run for the MAC team was Junior Guard Eian Elmer. Elmer, a native of Covington, Kentucky, came up huge in major moments for the RedHawks last season. This past April, after Miami had been eliminated from the NCAA tournament, Elmer transferred to Wisconsin for his senior campaign.
The 6-foot-6 guard posted a double-double of 32 points and 12 rebounds in their final regular-season victory over Ohio University in overtime, and Elmer led the team in scoring in their First Four win over SMU.
More important than those statistics themselves is what they reveal about Elmer’s play style. Elmer, in addition to leading the RedHawks in scoring in two of their last four games, averaged 5.9 rebounds per game in his last season with Miami, with 200 boards total in the 25-26 season.
Beyond the evident rebounding ability, Elmer displays a versatility that makes him an intriguing addition to a Badger rotation looking to get to the next level. Unlike other bigger guards, Elmer is more of a perimeter scorer; he attempted 4.9 threes per game, which made up over 50% of his total 8.4 field goal attempts per outing.
Elmer’s efficient outside shooting makes him a troubling proposition for opposing defenders, even as he transitions to higher-level competition in the Big Ten. He boasted a 42.9% three-point mark last year at Miami, which fits perfectly in a Wisconsin offense that loves to shoot threes.
His archetype is extremely coveted, as “3-and-D” wings his size don’t grow on trees. Elmer’s defensive capabilities extend beyond grabbing boards; he racked up 42 steals and 23 blocks in Miami’s 2025-26 campaign, showcasing his strong ability at both ends of the court.
Elmer is projected to start in the small forward spot, as he did for Miami in last year’s campaign. Elmer is also capable of playing the power forward four position, which he did during his sophomore year with the RedHawks, giving Greg Gard a true Swiss Army knife of a transfer.
Elmer’s shooting ability, strong defensive rebounding and flexibility at both the three and four positions gives a significant boost to the overall prospects of a Badger team looking to get back to the NCAA tournament and advance into the later rounds.
The biggest question mark for Elmer at Wisconsin isn’t whether he’ll be able to have an impact on the Badgers’ performances — his versatile and diverse skill set will likely allow him to impact games in a myriad of ways. The question is whether he can replicate his success with Miami in the MAC against much tougher conference opposition in the Big Ten.
If he can take that next step in his game and develop as a shot creator, he could be the next Greg Gard transfer turned All-American in line. Gard has a history of developing low-profile transfer players into Big Ten stalwarts (see SDSU transfer Nick Boyd and Mizzou transfer John Tonje).
Combine Gard’s developmental prowess with Elmer’s diverse skillset on the court, and the Miami transfer is primed for an impactful senior campaign with the Badgers.
