{"id":163597,"date":"2025-10-21T15:48:25","date_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:48:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/?p=163597"},"modified":"2025-10-21T15:48:34","modified_gmt":"2025-10-21T19:48:34","slug":"wisconsin-basketball-2025-26-preview-badgers-led-by-blackwell","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/21\/wisconsin-basketball-2025-26-preview-badgers-led-by-blackwell\/","title":{"rendered":"Wisconsin Basketball 2025-26 Preview: Badgers Led By Blackwell"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin had a heck of a showing in 2024-25, as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/john-tonje-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Tonje<\/a> turned into a household name. The transfer turned into one of the best players in the Big Ten and country for that matter. The Badgers will have to find a way to look elsewhere as he is gone, as is veteran big man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/steven-crowl-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Steven Crowl<\/a>. That&#8217;s where <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/john-blackwell-3.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">John Blackwell<\/a> can make a massive impact. The junior guard has already shown his ability to take over games. He along with plenty of new pieces will have their work cut out for them for Coach Greg Gard.<\/p>\n<p>The No. 24 ranked Badgers will have plenty to prove in 2025-26, and they will go where ever Blackwell leads them. So let&#8217;s dig a little deeper into the 2025-26 Wisconsin basketball team.<\/p>\n<h2>Wisconsin Basketball 2025-26 Preview: Badgers Go Where Blackwell Leads Them<\/h2>\n<h3>Roster Outlook<\/h3>\n<p>In total Wisconsin saw 11 players depart. Four of which went in the portal. So like last year&#8217;s portal work found <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2024\/11\/27\/how-john-tonje-revolutionized-wisconsin-basketball\/\" target=\"_self\">Tonje<\/a>, Coach Guard went portaling again bringing in five players. Not to mention a solid four-man freshman class.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/braeden-carrington-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Braeden Carrington<\/a> is a nice piece to bring in to handle the ball alongside Blackwell. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/nicholas-boyd-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nick Boyd<\/a> arrives in Madison following an All-MWC season at San Diego State, bringing more guard depth. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/elijah-gray-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Elijah Gray<\/a> (Temple), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/andrew-rohde-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Andrew Rohde<\/a> (Virginia) and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/austin-rapp-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Austin Rapp<\/a> (Portland) bring depth and experience to the Badgers. In Rohde&#8217;s case he&#8217;s a former All-Conference performer, and has played 94 games in his collegiate career. As for Rapp he&#8217;s coming off strong season in the WCC as a freshman.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">Austin Rapp. Learn the name.<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Badgers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Badgers<\/a> x <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OnWisconsin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#OnWisconsin<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/gZFlLVpJZ3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/gZFlLVpJZ3<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BadgerMBB\/status\/1980438802880417818?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">October 21, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>Rapp can help fill the void of Crowl alongside returning big-man <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/nolan-winter-2.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Nolan Winter<\/a>.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/jack-janicki-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Janicki<\/a> started showing promise last season as well.<\/p>\n<p>The freshman group for Wisconsin basketball has plenty of local talent from within the state, along with international talent. <a href=\"https:\/\/uwbadgers.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/zach-kinziger\/14421\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Zach Kizinger<\/a> is from De Pere, Wisconsin while center <a href=\"https:\/\/uwbadgers.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/will-garlock\/14425\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Will Garlock<\/a> comes from Middleton, Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/uwbadgers.com\/sports\/mens-basketball\/roster\/hayden-jones\/14423\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hayden Jones<\/a> is a 6-foot-7 guard from New Zealand. He has a chance to play quickly as does Lithuania&#8217;s Aleksas Bieliauskas.<\/p>\n<h4>Rest of the Team:<\/h4>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/jack-robison-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Jack Robison<\/a> (Sophomore)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/riccardo-greppi-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Riccardo Greppi<\/a> (Sophomore)<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sports-reference.com\/cbb\/players\/isaac-gard-1.html\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Isaac Gard<\/a> (Senior)<\/p>\n<h3>Schedule Outlook<\/h3>\n<p>The Badgers test themselves with a power exhibition game against Oklahoma at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee along with one other exhibition game before they kick off the 2025-26 season at home with Campbell (November 3rd). Other key games on the Badgers conference schedule include a clash with BYU and AJ Dybantsa in Salt Lake City (Nov. 21st).<\/p>\n<p>That clash leads into the Badgers Holiday tournament in San Diego as they face Providence in the Children&#8217;s Invitational, before a possible match-up with TCU or defending National Champion Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Then comes an old rivalry clash with Marquette in early December, in between their two early Big Ten match-ups against Northwestern and at Nebraska.\u00a0 Villanova is the final big non-con game in December as they pair will take to the floor at Fiserv Forum.<\/p>\n<p>As for the rest of the Big Ten, the Badgers get a whose who of powerful match-ups in arguably the toughest conference in the country. They get three massive games against three of the top dawgs in the conference in early January.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Home<\/strong>: Purdue, UCLA, Rutgers, USC, Minnesota, Ohio State, Michigan State, Iowa, Maryland<\/p>\n<p><strong>Road<\/strong>: Michigan, Minnesota, Penn State, Indiana, Illinois, Ohio State, Oregon, Washington, Purdue<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"550\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">The cheesiest conference schedule you&#39;ll ever see.<\/p>\n<p>Presenting our 2025-26 <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/bigten?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">@BigTen<\/a> Schedule<a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/Badgers?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#Badgers<\/a> x <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/hashtag\/OnWisconsin?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">#OnWisconsin<\/a> <a  href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/6uVDeuQ1sF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">pic.twitter.com\/6uVDeuQ1sF<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) <a  href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/BadgerMBB\/status\/1968782028884545631?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\" target=\"_blank\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">September 18, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<h3>Last Word on the Badgers<\/h3>\n<p>Facing <a href=\"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/2025\/10\/04\/purdue-basketball-2025-26-preview-this-could-be-the-year\/\" target=\"_self\">Purdue<\/a>, UCLA and Michigan in early January, certainly should show what the Badgers are made of. Coach Gard always has the Badgers in the hunt, much like they were in 2024-25. They might not have enough to win the Big Ten, but John Blackwell certainly has a shot to be one of the best players in the league. That has to give Wisconsin fans confidence to believe their team will be in the thick of the Big Ten fight. Getting defending Big Ten Champion Michigan State in Madison has to feel good. Wisconsin just knows how to retool, and expect them to be in the fight throughout the season.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a9 Isaiah J. Downing-Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wisconsin had a heck of a showing in 2024-25, as John Tonje turned into a household name. The transfer turned into one of the best players in the Big Ten and country for that matter. The Badgers will have to find a way to look elsewhere as he is gone, as is veteran big man [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5169,"featured_media":163665,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1608,773],"tags":[2785,875],"class_list":["post-163597","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-basketball","category-college-basketball","tag-big-ten-basketball","tag-wisconsin-badgers"],"modified_by":"Zach Kircher","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163597","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5169"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=163597"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":163667,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/163597\/revisions\/163667"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163665"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=163597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=163597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/basketball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=163597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}