Wisconsin Basketball One Step Closer Towards Adding 40% Three-Point Shooter to Roster

As the eligibility wars rage on, the door may be open for Wisconsin to return a three-point sniper.

Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

The patience and foresight of Wisconsin basketball general manager Marc VandeWettering and head coach Greg Gard could be rewarded in a big way.

This offseason, the Badgers strategically kept their 15th and final roster spot open even with the 2026-27 college basketball season now less than 100 days away.

The last time Gard addressed the topic to reporters, he mentioned that his staff is in Europe scouting international prospects, adding that "I think most likely it’s going to be somebody of large size."

However, that could all go out the window after a recent ruling by Colorado Judge Charlotte Sweeney, who just granted a class-wide preliminary injunction which requires the NCAA to grant eligibility for the upcoming season to all high school class of 2022 athletes who played their fourth and final year of eligibility in the spring, as first reported by Boise State associate professor Sam C. Ehrlich.

That, of course, opens the door for plenty of athletes to explore another season of eligibility. But for Wisconsin basketball, one name in particular comes to mind: former sharpshooter Braeden Carrington.

Carrington, who came to Madison for his senior season after two years at Minnesota and one year at Tulsa, has technically exhausted his collegiate eligibility. However, dozens of athletes have have taken the NCAA to court following the recent "five-for-five" ruling that grants a flat five years of eligibility to college athletes but essentially excludes the 2022 high school class.

Carrington recently joined an age-based eligibility lawsuit seeking another year of eligibility, and while that particular suit has yet to be resolved, the latest preliminary injunction granted by Judge Sweeney orders the NCAA to grant eligibility to all high school class of 2022 athletes.

We have yet to hear anything from Carrington on the matter, but the former Badgers' guard has stayed around the team, attending summer practice.

What Greg Gard said about Carrington

Wisconsin Badgers guard Braeden Carrington. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

"And then we’re evaluating the injunction," Gard said at a summer media availability. "Does the injunction stay? Does the NCAA push back on it, do they wait?"

Thus, it's clear Wisconsin's front office is leaving the door open to add a fifth-year player, and it would almost certainly be Carrington.

“I don’t know where he’s at in terms of (the injunction)...that thing is changing by the hour, I don’t know what his intentions are, if he’s gonna get involved in that," Gard said of Carrington at the same availability. "It’s kinda still up in the air, he hasn’t moved one way or the other on it. He’s kinda taking a wait and see approach, as we all are."

Carrington's return would be enormous for the Badgers, who look a little thin at guard past their starters. Last season, he shot 40.1 percent from downtown on 5.1 attempts per game, averaging 8.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 1.1 assists off the bench. Carrington's experience and at times lethal ability to fill it up from three would be a massive boost for Wisconsin.