Four-star guard ready to take the next step for Wisconsin Basketball

MADISON, Wis. - Zach Kinziger refuses to live in a world of regret.

The true freshman from De Pere waited 12 games to make his college debut but spent the second part of the season buried at the end of Wisconsin's bench.

When the Badgers' season ended in the NCAA Tournament first round against High Point, Kinziger had played in only one of UW's final five games.

It seems like a costly price to burn a year of eligibility for 1.3 points and 4.9 minutes in 16 games, until Kinziger explained it was a fair tradeoff considering the knowledge he's carrying into his first college offseason.

A bucket ZK won't forget

Congrats @zach_kinziger on scoring your first points as a Badger! pic.twitter.com/Z6E9mDHUw0
— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) December 23, 2025

"I think just the in-game experience is huge," Kinziger said following the Big Ten Tournament semifinals. "You can practice all you want. I mean, I get great experience in practice already with Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, playing against them every day, but just to get that actual feel for a game, I've gotten to play some pretty big games where the environment's been really cool."

Kinziger logged minutes in the second half of a one-point game at No.2 Michigan, a January game Wisconsin won by three that sparked its season. He hit a three-pointer in the 21-point win against No.10 Michigan State in a game that ended with a court storm.

He played nine minutes and scored six points at Penn State and had a career-best four assists in a Senior-Night win over Maryland.

"The speed of the game when you get into the actual live game is a little different sometimes," Kinziger said. "The emotions, the crowd, everything is different in the game, so I've definitely learned a lot.

"I've taken a lot from that experience even though I haven't got a ton of minutes off after my red shirt, but it's still all been a valuable experience for me going forward."

Head coach Greg Gard and the Wisconsin staff have valued Kinziger's game for years, dating back to when they offered him his first power-four scholarship in June 2023 (he committed two months later). Kinziger's ability as a scorer (second on DePere's scoring list), rebounder, and passing traits earned him a consensus four-star recruit on major recruiting sites.

He seemed destined to redshirt with the depth and experience ahead of him, until an injury to Blackwell left Wisconsin thin at the guard position entering a non-conference game against Central Michigan. UW was 11 games into the season and looked great in moments, yet non-competitive in others. All the while, Kinziger had been rapidly improving in practice.

At the time, head coach Greg Gard said Kinziger's ability to read angles, match the speed of the game, play off two feet, and be a bulldog defensively had given the starters an adequate look on the scout team.

Gard felt UW's rotation needed a jolt from a "tough sucker" and a "fierce competitor," which led to Kinziger playing 12 minutes off the bench and scoring six points in his college debut.

"That competitive toughness that he brings, we've had so many guys who have helped over the years when they are young," Gard said after the game. "It's really important that you have those guys in those programs, specifically guys who are homegrown. He bleeds Badger red through and through."

Kinziger ended up playing in 16 of the final 24 games, logging at least five minutes in seven of those appearances.

Wisconsin is likely to target an experience point guard in the transfer portal to replace Boyd, but Kinziger has his eyes on being a backup option. He wants to improve ball handling and implement some of the tricks Boyd taught him about making reads and plays off ball screens.

"I think that's where I've actually taken my biggest jump over this whole course of the season has just been handling the rock," he said.

He wants to grow, too, both in the weight room and the right way to defend ball screens. He defended every day in practice against one of the best backcourts in the country, pressure that could help elevate him into a bigger role in the fall.

"That's a special player right there," guard Andrew Rohde said. "He's grown so much, especially being a freshman coming in here. He's gone through his ups and downs and his fair share of adversity, but that's an everyday guy. He's a really talented player. He's helped so much, and he's going to be a great Badger."