Wisconsin is bringing in three freshman with their 2025 recruiting class.
The Wisconsin Badgers have mainly focused on the transfer portal this offseason, securing commitments from four transfers and one overseas player to revamp their roster ahead of the 2025-26 season.
Head coach Greg Gard has mentioned the team’s shift in recruiting focus from the high school levels to more on the transfer portal side, as experience and ready-now players have become the most important factors for success in today’s world.
However, that hasn’t meant that the team has fully abandoned the high school recruiting route. In fact, the Badgers are bringing in three freshmen with their 2025 recruiting class: four-star in-state guard Zach Kinziger, three-star Australian guard Hayden Jones, and three-star in-state center Will Garlock.
Targeting in-state recruits was a key for the Badgers in this cycle, as they got one of the top players in the country with Kinziger, while filling needs along the wing and at center with Jones and Garlock.
As the transfer portal era has gone on, playing time has primarily gone to more experienced players for head coach Greg Gard. Notably, that was seen last season when Wisconsin did not have any of their three freshmen in the rotation, including four-star Daniel Freitag.
But, if players show they’re capable of hanging on the court, Gard looks to put the best players on the court. So, which freshmen, if any, will get a chance to play in 2025?
Looking at the rotation, the projected starting lineup is Nick Boyd, John Blackwell, Andrew Rohde, Austin Rapp, and Nolan Winter. That leaves Jack Janicki and Braeden Carrington as the top players off the bench.
Wisconsin likes to roll nine deep, so there are a few extra spots in the rotation available without a clear idea of who might take those spots. Off the bat, Kinziger seems likely to at least compete for minutes as a freshman.
Is he physically ready? Probably not. Will he be strong immediately on the defensive end? Probably not. But, Wisconsin needs scoring and depth off the bench, and Kinziger can definitely do that.
The glaring hole is in the frontcourt, where Wisconsin is already a little undersized with their two bigs, who are more capable as stretch fours. Who will be the backup there? My thoughts initially go towards Aleksas Bieliauskas, the 19-year-old Lithuanian who will come to Madison next year.
But, it’s unclear what his level of readiness is, so even that is a question mark. While he tore his ACL in the spring of 2024, Garlock could be an option to push for 10 minutes a game as an athletic, shot-blocking center.
He may also need to prepare more physically to be prepared for the Big Ten, but the Badgers need someone to play that backup power forward/center role, and there aren’t many options.
I don’t see Jones playing initially as a freshman in 2025. He’d have to beat out Kinziger, Janicki, or Carrington for a spot in the rotation, which doesn’t seem likely.
But, there’s a chance the other two freshmen see time at the back of Greg Gard’s rotation as Wisconsin looks ahead to the 2025-26 season.