The Wisconsin Badgers have a brand new team this offseason, as they added eight players via overseas, the transfer portal, and the freshman class to complement their six returners in 2026.
Added to the group were guard Owen Foxwell, guard Trey Autry, forward Eian Elmer, forward Victory Onuetu, guard Jackson Ball, guard LaTrevion Fenderson, guard Josh Manchester, and forward Isaac Riddle. Those eight join Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, Jack Janicki, Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, and Will Garlock to form the 2026 roster.
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Over the past two weeks, the Badgers have hosted two summer workouts open to the media, where we got a first look at the current state of the team. Following last week’s practice, head coach Greg Gard shared his early thoughts from the summer and touched on the clear biggest difference from last year’s squad to this year’s.
“Size, health, big importance,” Gard said. “And that’s with 2 guys that are 7 feet or 6’10 sitting on the sidelines [in Nolan Winter and Austin Rapp]. So, you know, I think that’s the one thing. The front line is an area we wanted to address. Some of it was just through improvement of who was returning, but then adding Victory, a guy of that size, that athletic ability helps raise the bar up front.”
Frontcourt depth was a goal that the Badgers had for the roster last year, but things didn’t work out as the roster was built out at the end. This offseason, Wisconsin did lose Aleksas Bieliauskas, who was a great fit as a freshman stretch big. But they added Victory Onuetu, a veteran transfer who provides the athleticism, physicality, and shot-blocking ability they need in the frontcourt.
With Wisconsin’s starters in the frontcourt, the Badgers don’t have that imposing shot-blocking presence, but rather two bigs that can stretch the floor and provide in other ways defensively. Now, with Onuetu and a growing Will Garlock, the Badgers have two physical bigs that can rotate in the frontcourt and play alongside either one of the starters.
