National Outlet Blatantly Disrespects Wisconsin Star Forward Nolan Winter

The Field of 68's opinion of Nolan Winter is preposterously low.

Wisconsin Badgers forward Nolan Winter. | Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

When the Badgers officially retained Nolan Winter for the 2026-27 season, the home-grown forward's senior year, it was perhaps their most crucial move of the entire offseason.

The forward, who blossomed into a premier player in the Big Ten last season, is a unique talent as a mobile, sharpshooting big man with three years of experience under his belt. He would've easily been one of the top forwards, and perhaps players altogether, in the transfer portal had he elected to leave Madison — and he certainly could've landed a bigger payday.

Thus, it was incredibly crucial for Wisconsin to bring back Winter for another year, and though the loss of dynamic Duke-bound shooting guard John Blackwell absolutely stings, retaining Winter softens the blow and gives the Badgers a potential superstar in the frontcourt.

The Field of 68, however, isn't quite as bullish on Winter. In a list complied by two of the outlet's writers, Rob Dauster and Sam Lance, Winter ranks as just the 49th-best returning player in the nation.

The Top 50 Returning Players in College Basketball for 2025-26, per The Field of 68. | The Field of 68

There's certainly some talented players on this list, and I wont' go as far to say Winter should be above some of the premier forwards on this list such as Florida's Thomas Haugh.

Still, placing Winter at 49th is preposterous.

Winter is below...who?

Wisconsin Badgers forward Nolan Winter. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Winter certainly doesn't have claim to the top spot on this list, but some of the players — particularly the forwards — listed ahead of him are extremely eyebrow-raising.

It's harder to compare Winter to the guards listed higher than him, but Winter deserves to be ranked higher than a solid handful of forwards here.

Take Ohio State's Amare Bynum at No. 44. Sure, he had a solid freshman season, averaging 9.7 points and 4.9 rebounds on 50/31/73 shooting splits, but he had nowhere near the impact that the full-time starter Winter — who produced 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds on 57/33/74 shooting splits — had.

How about Minnesota's Jaylen Crocker-Johnson? The Gophers' forward had similar stats (13.4 points, 6.8 rebounds) but was way less impactful when you actually break it down. He was a much less efficient shooter, hitting just 42 percent of his shots from the field at 6-foot-8. What's more, while Winter was a walking double-double, highlighting his prowess on the glass, Crocker-Johnson only logged three double-doubles. Winter recorded 12, notching one in over a third of his games.

Players outside the Big Ten aren't off the hook either. Arizona's Ivan Kharchenkov? I'm not sure how you could look at his lone season of college ball thus far (10.4 points, 4.3 rebounds and 2.3 assists on 49/32/72 shooting splits) and rank him higher than Winter. Not only did the latter have a far greater impact last season, but with his three years of experience and continuity in Madison, he's way more primed to explode in 2026-27.

What's more, many national college basketball writers believed Winter would've been one of the top players in the transfer portal.

Wisconsin keeping Nolan Winter is equal to landing a top-20 transfer. https://t.co/kHfZJvknYt

— Isaac Trotter (@Isaac__Trotter) April 21, 2026

Retention will never get as much hype as incoming transfers, but still, we may be talking about Winter a whole lot more had he entered the portal and transferred to a blue-blood program. In terms of individual talent, it's clear Winter would've been a top prospect in the portal, meaning he's also certainly a top returning player.

Ultimately, it's unsurprising that Winter is being slept on heading into his senior year in Madison. The Badgers' team as a whole has a tendency to fly under the radar in the offseason, and the same is true for their players.

Whether or not he takes the next leap into a true superstar, Winter is easily one of the top returning players in the country and deserves a much higher ranking than No. 49 on The Field of 68's list.