Early Look at What Wisconsin Basketball's Roster Could Look Like in 2026-27

There's no time for Wisconsin basketball to rest after its disappointing early exit from the NCAA Tournament. The offseason starts now, with hundreds of players having already announced their intention to enter the transfer portal.

Every transfer portal cycle is crucial these days, but head coach Greg Gard and his staff once again are under big pressure to deliver this offseason, as the Badgers are set to lose three key seniors to graduation (Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Braeden Carrington) with two star juniors (John Blackwell, Nolan Winter) still contemplating their future. All told, Wisconsin may need to replace four starters.

All signs point to Wisconsin once again needing to do some serious work in the transfer portal. And while its too early to project specific transfer signees, we can still take a stab at how the Badgers will approach re-tooling their depth chart in the months to come.

Below, we break down Wisconsin basketball's roster ahead of what should be a busy offseason:

Guard

John Blackwell's impending decision looms large for the Badgers. | Troy Wayrynen-Imagn Images

Departing Program: Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Braeden Carrington, Isaac Gard

Incoming Freshmen: Jackson Ball, LaTrevion Fenderson

Status Unknown: John Blackwell

Transfer Watch: Jack Janicki, Hayden Jones

Wisconsin easily experiences the most turnover on its roster at guard this offseason. The Badgers are guaranteed to lose their starting point guard in Boyd, their starting wing in Rohde, and the lone 40 percent three-point shooter on the team in Carrington.

Even if Blackwell returns — which, for this exercise, we'll assume he doesn't — Wisconsin would be without a true point guard on the roster. Jackson Ball, the incoming freshman from New Zealand with professional experience, has some chops as a passer but he's not getting handed the keys to this offense in year one. Thus, point guard is probably the Badgers' top transfer portal priority.

Should both Zach Kinziger and Hayden Jones stay with the program, they'll likely see their roles expand. But still, it once again looks like the Badgers would be wise to add an experienced guard with scoring upside at the two spot via the transfer portal.

Depending on how Wisconsin wants to allocate its resources, the three spot is interesting as well. It would hardly be surprising to see the Badgers go after a transfer, but rising sophomore Hayden Jones has good size at 6-foot-6 and flashed some scoring ability across limited action this season.

Projected 2026-27 Depth Chart:

Point Guard	Shooting Guard	Wing
1. (Transfer)	1. (Transfer)	1. Hayden Jones
2. (Transfer)	2. Zach Kinziger	2. Jack Janicki

Forward

Austin Rapp has already announced his intention to return. | David Banks-Imagn Images

Departing Program: N/A

Incoming Freshmen: N/A

Status Unknown: Nolan Winter

Transfer Watch: Riccardo Greppi, Jack Robison

In the frontcourt, everything hinges on Winter's impending decision. For this exercise, we'll assume he stays in Madison, unlike Blackwell.

If Winter does in fact hang around, Wisconsin could essentially run its entire frontcourt from last season back. Rising junior Austin Rapp has already verbally committed to returning, while Aleksas Bieliauskas got plenty involved in his freshman season, starting 28 of 35 games and averaging 20.2 minutes. He's got no reason to depart as long as the Badgers want him back.

That leaves rising sophomore Will Garlock and rising junior Riccardo Greppi. Garlock, the Middleton native who saw action, plenty of it meaningful, in 30 games as a freshman appears less likely to depart, but if the Badgers don't make enough of an effort to keep him, you never know. Behind Bieliauskas, Garlock should be the second-highest retention priority in the frontcourt.

Greppi, meanwhile, is a wild card. He was the second-least utilized rotation player this season, ahead of only Isaac Gard. With his eligibility beginning to run out, he may think about finding a program that need him more.

Projected 2026-27 Depth Chart:

Power Forward	Center
1. Aleksas Bielauskas	1. Nolan Winter
2. Austin Rapp	2. Will Garlock