College Basketball Top-25: Wisconsin Badgers Projected Roster & Outlook
In this series, we'll be taking a closer look at RotoWire's preseason college basketball top-25, with an in-depth roster analysis and projected rotation for the 2025-26 season for each team. Let's get things started with the Wisconsin Badgers.
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25. Wisconsin Badgers 
Wisconsin is coming off the best offensive season of the Greg Gard era. The Badgers -- who were eliminated by BYU in the Round of 32 -- played at a much faster pace and were not afraid to let it fly from deep.
While leading scorer John Tonje (19.6 PPG) will not be returning, second-leading scorer John Blackwell (15.8 PPG) will be running it back. Blackwell is a slasher who can get to the rim whenever he wants, and could put up a monster junior season if he shoots it from deep like he did as a freshman when he knocked down over 45 percent of his shots from behind the arc.
The Badgers also did an excellent job hitting the transfer portal to fill team voids. Nick Boyd should slot in as the starting point guard after a career season with San Diego State in which he averaged 13.4 PPG, 3.9 APG, 3.9 RPG and 1.7 3PM. Virginia transfer Andrew Rohde is expected to complete the backcourt. The Brookfield native shot over 41 percent from three last season and is capable of being a lead distributor at 6-6.
The X-factor for the Badgers next season will be Austin Rapp, who is coming off a terrific freshman campaign at Portland in which he put up 13.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.7 3PM, 2.5 APG and 1.5 BPG. The 6-10 forward from Melbourne is a clear matchup problem and should give coach Gard a lot of different options on the offensive end.
Nolan Winter will likely slide down to play center with Steven Crowl gone. Winter had a breakout year as a sophomore and should continue to get better.
Depth is the biggest question about this team going into next season. Apart from Tulsa transfer Braeden Carrington (7.4 PPG), Wisconsin will be relying on four freshman to round out the rotation. Zach Kinziger is the highest rated recruit and will provide an instant shooting threat off the bench.
There are certainly some interesting pieces here for Gard to turn this into a competitive Big Ten team, but it would be hard to see them managing a 3-seed in the NCAA Tournament again.
Check out how injuries are affecting the status of other players & teams on RotoWire's college basketball injury report.
2025-26 Wisconsin Basketball Projected Starting Lineup:
PG: Nick Boyd (13.4 PPG, 3.9 APG, 1.7 3PM at San Diego State)
SG: John Blackwell (15.8 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 1.6 3PM)
SF: Andrew Rohde (9.3 PPG, 4.3 APG, 1.4 3PM at Virginia)
PF: Austin Rapp (13.8 PPG, 6.5 RPG, 2.7 3PM, 1.5 BPG at Portland)
C: Nolan Winter (9.4 PPG, 5.8 RPG)
Key Reserves: Zach Kinziger (No. 74 in ESPN 100), Braeden Carrington (7.4 PPG, 1.5 3PM at Tulsa), Will Garlock (3-star Freshman), Aleksas Bieliauskas (International Freshman), Hayden Jones (International Freshman)
Following another active transfer portal period, RotoWire's college basketball depth charts are updated with the latest in roster movement.
2025-26 Full Preseason College Basketball Top-25
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- Coming Soon
- Louisville Cardinals
- Michigan Wolverines
- BYU Cougars
- UConn Huskies
- Texas Tech Red Raiders
- Auburn Tigers
- Arkansas Razorbacks
- UCLA Bruins
- Alabama Crimson Tide
- Iowa State Cyclones
- Arizona Wildcats
- Michigan State Spartans
- Gonzaga Bulldogs
- Kansas Jayhawks
- Tennessee Volunteers
- North Carolina Tar Heels
- Oregon Ducks
- Illinois Fighting Illini
- Wisconsin Badgers
