Where Each Wisconsin Basketball Returnee Must Improve for 2026-27

Where do the six players Wisconsin retained from its 2025-26 season need to improve their games?

Wisconsin's Nolan Winter. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Wisconsin basketball officially announced its class of returning players for the 2026-27 season. With the two biggest names, Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp, already locked in for next season prior to the announcement, there were no big surprises.

All for the 👐

Excited to have these guys back in Madtown pic.twitter.com/kQ8Bi8H953

— Wisconsin Basketball (@BadgerMBB) April 27, 2026

The Badgers have also brought in eight players this offseason and still have one more spot to fill for their 2026-27 roster. But retention is such a crucial aspect of building a college basketball team, and Wisconsin will bank on some returning players making big strides.

What does each player returning for the 2026-27 season need to improve upon? Badgers On SI takes a look below:

Nolan Winter, Forward

Wisconsin Badgers forward Nolan Winter. | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Winter developed into a walking double-double as a junior in Madison. He averaged 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds while shooting 57 percent from the floor and 33 percent from distance. It was easily his best season with the Badgers, and he firmly established himself as one of the better stretch bigs in the conference.

Winter took big strides as a junior, but he was still the third-fiddle to John Blackwell and Nick Boyd. With both star guards having skipped town, the rising senior Winter now has a clear path to become the Badgers' top scoring option. Last season, his offensive usage percentage was just 17.8. Without nearly as much star power next season, Winter is going to need to assert himself more offensively and potentially become this team's primary scoring threat. The good news is that he's more than capable, and it's not too much to ask — in fact, it's the logical next step in his development.

Austin Rapp, Forward

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

Rapp became a fan favorite with his tendency to get scorching hot from distance, a skill he only seemed to improve upon as the season wore on — he shot 42 percent from deep (on 7.2 attempts per game) in the month of March.

The Australian's three-point shooting is undoubtedly his calling card, but Wisconsin is going to need more out of the forward. Specifically, they need him to do more forward-like things, such as rim protection and post offense.

A whopping 62 percent of Rapp's shots were above break threes. A mere 27.9 percent of his shots came in the paint/at the rim. What's more, his steal, block and rebounding percentages were all extremely low and in bottom-half percentiles nationally. Rapp is a unique big because of his shooting, but he needs to work on the more traditional parts of being a forward.

Will Garlock, Forward

Wisconsin Badgers forward Will Garlock. | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Garlock was hardly used in Madison, averaging just 6.8 minutes per game. Unlike Rapp, the rising sophomore forward is very much an old-school big man; he only hit shots right at the rim in 2025-26.

Garlock has the size at seven-feet tall, and he already appears to have a Big Ten physique. Where does he need to grow? In ways that compliment the other forwards on this roster — if Winter and Rapp can stretch the floor but offer little interior defense, Garlock must develop into a brick wall down low who can physically match up with some of the more physical bigs in the conference. He needs to gobble up rebounds and alter shots at the rim if he's not going to stretch the floor for the Badgers offensively.

Jack Janikci, Guard

Injured Wisconsin guard Jack Janicki. | Mark Hoffman/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Janicki earned minutes last season because of his defensive proficiency, but it's clear what he needs to improve upon.

In 2024-25, Janikci was a similarly underutilized player in Madison but he actually offered something in the way of offense, shooting 39 percent from the field. That's certainly not great, but it's better than the 32 percent he shot from the field this past season.

Janicki did shoot 36 percent on corner threes last year— if he can find a few niche, consistent shots like that to where he can actually contribute on offense, that would go a long way in improving Wisconsin's scoring punch off the bench.

Hayden Jones, Guard

Wisconsin guard Hayden Jones. | Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

With players like Jones and Zach Kinziger who played so sparingly last season, it's not always easy to nail down a particular area for improvement. What's more, Jones proved to be a capable scorer from multiple areas of the floor in limited action last season.

Now, he must grow defensively, especially given his height at 6-foot-7. Jones has the size to be a problem on that end of the court. The New Zealander's offensive game is already quite developed from his time overseas, but if he wants to significantly expand his role as a sophomore, defense should be his primary focus.

Zach Kinziger, Guard

Wisconsin Badgers guard Zach Kinziger. | Matthew O'Haren-Imagn Images

Again, it was a small sample size with Kinziger. It's hard to evaluate his game without seeing him on the court for more than 4.8 minutes per game. But the De Pere native is a shooting guard through-and-through — you'd like to see him develop into a sniper the Badgers can deploy off the bench next season.

Shooting has always been Kinziger's calling card, but limited minutes last season made it difficult for him to get into a rhythm. He shot just 25 percent from deep, a number he's certainly capable of improving upon. Like many young players on this roster, Kinziger's defense also still has room to grow. But with his skillset, you'd love to see him develop into a pure shot-maker off the bench.