Wisconsin Badgers seeing Braeden Carrington settling into critical role for Greg Gard

It's hard to tell what sort of demeanor Braeden Carrington carries on the floor without watching him play.

A soft-spoken, glasses-wearing senior from Brooklyn Park, Minnesota, Carrington shared with the media that his favorite animal is an elephant.

While he may not trumpet like the animal off the court, Carrington's game is plenty loud enough.

"Fearless" Braeden Carrington settling into important role

Only a couple of months until these #Badgers are suiting up at the Kohl Center! pic.twitter.com/s42UFNCKoR
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) August 31, 2025

Greg Gard has had to navigate working nine new players into his program for the 2025-26 season. Carrington is a critical piece of those nine.

Wisconsin is his third program in four seasons, having previously played at Minnesota and Tulsa. Despite his track record at the collegiate level, it has taken some time for him to acclimate to Madison and for Gard to learn how to best use the veteran wing.

Over the Badgers last few games, the comfort level between the player, coach and system have been visibly improved, and it's shown up on the stat sheet.

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Carrington has offered a massive offensive spark during Wisconsin's last three games, averaging 10.7 points, 2.3 rebounds and 1.3 assists across 16.3 minutes while shooting 55.6 percent from the field and 57.1 percent from three-point range.

But being a significant part of the rotation wasn't a guarantee for Carrington.

"I came here expecting to have to work for my spot. I knew it wasn't going to be easy because it's a great program. We have great players on this team," Carrington said Tuesday. "But I knew coming in, I'll just bring my defense, and I've got to rebound a little better, but once I start doing that more, too, it'll help a lot."

Carrington came to Madison known as a defense-first player. He averaged fewer than six points in both of his seasons with the Golden Gophers,. Despite starting in 19 of 29 games at Tulsa, Carrington averaged just 7.4 points.

At 6-foot-5, he has a long wingspan and a high defensive IQ, which has allowed him to get into passing lanes and disrupt opposing offenses. His motor allows him to be a strong rebounder for a guard.

That's why Carrington being Wisconsin's top scoring reserve has been a pleasant surprise. His scorching shooting will likely fade, but Carrington's offensive tear could have a lingering effect on his confidence.

"Obviously, my shot is falling," Carrington said. "I'm getting more and more confidence with that, and that's a credit to the coaches. They're putting me in good positions to knock down shots, and they have trust in me."

With each game, Gard has seemingly become more comfortable with Carrington, learning more about his game.

"The one thing I've learned with him, he's a gamer," Gard said. "When the lights go on, he just finds ways to impact a game. And he's aggressive. He's fearless."

#Badgers coach Greg Gard on senior guard Braeden Carrington's offensive rebounding, energy off the bench.

"I got to try to get him involved more. And I don't know where minutes are going to come from, but I'll get him in earlier." pic.twitter.com/r7PeFK3Mwv
— Michael McCleary (@MikeJMcCleary) October 31, 2025

That fearlessness was one of few bright spots for Wisconsin in its 28-point defeat against BYU last Friday. Carrington's 14 points were tied for the second most on the team, and he was one of three Wisconsin players to not turn the ball over.

Related: Intensity increasing at Wisconsin Badgers' practices following blowout loss

"I saw that [aggression and fearlessness] the other night at BYU. He was one guy that maintained aggressiveness offensively, and obviously it showed with his stat line," Gard said. "I think that's where the experience comes in, and that's why that's valuable coming out of the portal."

"(Carrington is) somebody that's played at two other places and has been in a lot of big events and big games and played at a high level," Gard continued. "That's the one thing I liked about him, and really that's been pretty consistent, is just his, his steady fearlessness."

Carrington stepping into the role of a steadying, veteran presence off the bench would likely be welcomed by Wisconsin. After all, the program just had a pair of players who fit that mold graduate.

Carter Gilmore and Kamari McGee each provided consistent energy from the second unit. They played strong individual and team defense, while offering the occasional offensive boost.

Carrington has big shoes to fill in that regard, and he may never reach that level of impact.

But, according to Gard, one thing is certain when it comes to Carrington.

"When the ball goes up, he's ready to compete."

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