The Badgers have several freshmen competing in overseas tournaments this offseason.
The Wisconsin Badgers had their biggest recruiting class in recent years, taking four high school players in the Class of 2025: four-star in-state guard Zach Kinziger, three-star in-state center Will Garlock, three-star New Zealand guard Hayden Jones, and Lithuanian forward Aleksas Bieliauskas.
Diving into the international pool, the Badgers have seen success in recent years, landing recruits from overseas in the 2024, 2025, and 2026 classes.
Earlier last week, Jones got a chance to showcase his skills on the national scene, as he led New Zealand to a fourth-place finish at the FIBA U19 World Cup. Now, another Badgers recruit has a chance to do the same at the Eurobasket U20 tournament.
Aleksas Bieliauskas will be a part of Lithuania’s U20 team, getting another chance to represent his country before arriving in Madison for summer workouts. Standing 6’11, there isn’t much known about Bieliauskas’s game, apart from his college-ready size.
Bieliauskas could earn an opportunity to get early minutes for the Badgers, as there are open spots in the frontcourt off the bench for contributors to emerge. Wisconsin currently has Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp as its projected starters, but there aren’t many established bigs off the bench.
At the four spot, Temple transfer Elijah Gray figures to carve out a key role. But, Wisconsin could still use one of its freshmen for additional size in a small role off the bench this upcoming season.
Bieliauskas will get a chance to showcase his skills as he looks to keep Lithuania churning in the tournament.