The world of basketball recruiting is a strange one. Because roster sizes are smaller than in other sports, recruiting often fluctuates. Some years, a team is full and only pursues one recruit. Other years, the roster turns over, and a team pursues four recruits and three players in the portal.
Head coach Greg Gard has really figured out how to balance this over the years. Not only has he mastered the portal, signing Max Klesmit and Kamari McGee in 2022, AJ Storr in 2023 and John Tonje in 2024. Gard has done an excellent job recruiting, too, signing Steven Crowl and Johnny Davis in 2020, Chucky Hepburn in 2021, Connor Essegian in 2022 and John Blackwell and Nolan Winter in 2023.
Gard and the recruiting team settled on three recruits for the class of 2025 — all of whom have signed their letters of intent to join the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball team for the start of the 2025 season. In this class, Gard targeted specific positions of need to fill out the roster next season. Let’s take a look at these future Badgers.
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Zach Kinziger
Kinziger is a 6-foot-3 shooting guard from De Pere, Wisconsin. 247 Composite has Kinziger graded an 95.94 on a 100-point scale, good enough for a ranking of 88th in the country and 13th at his position. He only had two Power Four offers, either to stay with his hometown team, Wisconsin, or to jump ship and play for rival Iowa.
Kinziger played in the Nike Elite Youth Basketball League over this past summer. The Nike EYBL is a circuit for youth teams, composed of only players 17 years old or younger, to showcase the young and elite upcoming basketball talent.
Kinziger had a solid session. He wasn’t the top scorer on his team, but he did show a lot of potential as a combo guard at the two spot. Kinziger can shoot from beyond the arc effectively while also being confident and efficient with the ball in his hands — he can shoot off the dribble, facilitate or get to the rim confidently.
He also shows dedicated effort on the defensive side. He’s got a great defensive slide — he’s quick laterally and has great hands, being able to poke the ball out when his man tries to get to the rim. While it’s clear Kinziger has some growing to do as an athlete to be truly ready for the college level, he shows promising ability in the central tools of the game — shooting, dribbling, passing, driving and defending. It’s unlikely that Kinziger plays as a true freshman, but crazier things have happened, and he is clearly a talented ball player.
Will Garlock
Garlock is a 7-foot center from Middleton, Wisconsin. On the composite scale, Garlock is graded an 87.51, which ranks him 246th in the nation and 42nd at his position.
The best part about Garlock’s game is the fact that he fully utilizes being the big man on the court. In the modern game, centers need to be able to stretch the floor. But it’s equally important for a big to take advantage of their size — and Garlock does just that. He always rotates to the paint on defense to contest and block shots. He’s also always crashing the offensive glass to give his team second chances, and when he grabs the offensive rebound down low it’s an automatic two points on the board.
Garlock’s role at Middleton High School is similar to Crowl’s at Wisconsin. When they run an offensive set through Garlock, they feed him in the post and let him find the open man when the double team inevitably comes. Consequently, it’s easy to see why Gard was such a big fan of Garlock’s game.
Gard has really emphasized 3-point shooting this season. This has included all the big men – Crowl, Winter and Xavier Amos. Garlock, at least in his highlights, isn’t seen taking jump shots. So, it will be interesting to see whether or not a consistent jump shot is something Garlock can develop early at Wisconsin. If he can, he can 100% find himself in the rotation, even if it’s a backup role, as a true freshman.
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Hayden Jones
Jones is a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from New Zealand. He has not received an official grade as a prospect. Obviously, it is tough to really judge how good or bad of a signing an international prospect is, as they don’t receive the same type of profile as a prospect from the U.S. gets.
But, Jones did represent his country at the FIBA Under-17 Basketball World Cup, which took place in Turkey. Jones averaged almost 12 points per game at the tournament — which is a good average — especially when you pair it with three assists per game. He was second for New Zealand in points and assists during the tournament. Jones put his facilitating, leadership and his elite vision on full display. These abilities, alongside being able to effectively shoot the ball, would make any college program pay attention.
Gard has said that he and his recruiting team have the intention to increase their international recruiting efforts, including recently getting fellow New Zealander, Jackson Ball, to commit for the class of 2026, so bringing in Jones will help Gard, his team and fans truly judge whether or not putting more time into overseas recruiting will pay itself off.