Projecting Wisconsin Basketball's Roster, Depth Chart After Two '27 Commits

Wisconsin basketball's roster for the 2026-27 season still isn't technically complete — the 15th and final spot remains vacant.

Still, that's not stopping the Badgers from doing work on future iterations of their roster. In a little over a week, Wisconsin landed two high school commits in the class of 2027 as it continues to shape its team for the future.

The Badgers added elite, nationally sought-after four-star combo guard Jalen Brown a few days into June, and followed that up with a pledge from 7-foot-1 Minnesota native Jack Thelen, who keeps Wisconsin's robust big man pipeline into the North Star State alive and well.

With two recent additions to Wisconsin basketball's program, let's take a look at the Badgers' projected roster and depth chart for multiple upcoming seasons.

2026-27 Guard Depth

Former Miami (OH) RedHawks forward Eian Elmer. | Kyle Ross-Imagn Images

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Wing
Owen Foxwell (Fr.*)	Trey Autry (Sr.)	Eian Elmer (Sr.)
Zach Kinziger (So.)	Jackson Ball (Fr.)	Hayden Jones (So.)
Josh Manchester (Fr.)	Jack Janicki (Jr.)	LaTrevion Fenderson (Fr.)

The class of 2027 signings don't impact Wisconsin's rotation for next season. Still, with the above projection, the Badgers should be able to reliably play four separate guards off the bench (Kinziger, Ball, Jones and Janicki).

2027-28 Guard Depth

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Wing
Zach Kinziger (Jr.)	Jalen Brown (Fr. )	Jackson Ball (So.)
Josh Manchester (So.)	Jack Janikci (Sr.)	Hayden Jones (Jr).
		LaTrevion Fenderson (So.)

The big caveat here is that we don't know Foxwell's eligibility quite yet. Considering he's currently 22 years old, let's assume he's a one-and-done in Madison for the sake of argument.

With this depth chart projecting two seasons into the future, it shouldn't be taken as a direct projection of what the Badgers rotation will look like, but rather who they could still have on their roster — and what holes they might need to fill. I'd expect the highly-touted Brown to waltz in and immediately make an impact, and it wouldn't shock me to see him claim a starting role.

Kinziger could be ready to run the point by his junior season; we'll see what kind of experience he gets in 2026-27 as the primary backup to Foxwell.

If Ball is as advertized and Jones continues to develop, Wisconsin could be pretty set on the wing as well even post-Eian Elmer.

2026-27 Forward Depth

Wisconsin Badgers forward Austin Rapp. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Power Forward	Center
Austin Rapp (Jr.)	Nolan Winter (Sr.)
Victory Onuetu (Sr.)	Will Garlock (So.)
Isaac Riddle (Fr.)

Again, Thelen doesn't impact the 2026-27 squad. Still, this group of forwards looks deeper and more well-rounded for Wisconsin going into next year with Winter, Rapp and Garlock all continuing to progress, plus the addition of Onuetu who completely changes the stylistic capacity of the room with his rim protection and lob threat ability.

2027-28 Forward Depth

Power Forward	Center
Austin Rapp (Sr.)	Will Garlock (Jr.)
Isaac Riddle (So.)	Will Thelen (Fr.)

It's no secret Winter's departure is going to leave a sizable hole in this room, one that the underclassmen two years from now (Riddle and Thelen) are likely not going to be able to fill themselves. The Badgers may find themselves in the market for a starter-level transfer portal big man a year from now.

Add us as a preferred source on Google