The Badgers made an impressive run last season as a 5-seed in the Big Ten Conference Tournament, falling in the championship to No. 3-seeded Michigan by just six points, 69-63.
Wisconsin head coach Greg Gard now has a full decade with the Badgers on his resume and the program’s third-best overall record, 213-117. As he enters his 11th season in Madison, Gard is ranked No. 7 in On3’s Preseason Big Ten Coaches Top-10.
College basketball analyst James Fletcher III called Gard “a model of consistency.”
Here are Fletcher’s full comments:
“Greg Gard is a model of consistency in his ability to bring in Big Ten quality players and put together a roster ready to march through the conference on the way to an NCAA Tournament appearance. The two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year has missed the NCAA Tournament just twice in his career, picking up where Bo Ryan left off when he handed over the keys to the program. Wisconsin is not the most glamorous program in the country, or even in the Big Ten, but the ability to develop players and find hidden gems in the transfer portal has allowed them to compete. Greg Gard continues to ride the success and looks to build on it,” Fletcher wrote.
Gard will have to build on his success without Badgers’ star guard John Tonje. The sixth-year guard was selected by the Utah Jazz with the 53rd pick in the second round of the 2025 NBA Draft earlier this summer.
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Despite the loss of Tonje, Gard can look forward to the additions of four key freshmen: two homegrown in Wisconsin and two international athletes.
The Wisconsin natives joining the Badgers’ roster are point guard Zach Kinziger and center Will Garlock. Kinziger is a four-star prospect out of De Pere High School who signed with the Badgers in August 2023. He was ranked third among recruits in Wisconsin, No. 20 among shooting guards and No. 124 nationally, per 247Sports. Garlock is a 7-foot, three-star prospect and signed with Wisconsin out of Middleton High School in June 2024.
Two international freshmen join the Badgers this fall. At 6-foot-9, 19-year-old Lithuanian power forward Aleksas Bieliauskas is already a formidable court presence, and put on an impressive performance at the FIBA U20 Men’s World Cup Tournament. Bieliauskas committed in April, while another international recruit in Wisconsin’s 2025 class, New Zealand guard Hayden Jones, committed back in July 2024.
Last season Gard and the No. 3-seeded Badgers fell to the No. 6-seeded BYU Cougars, 91-89, a tough upset in the second round of the NCAA Tournament. ESPN’s Joe Lunardi’s most recent prediction for the 2026 March Madness bracket sees Wisconsin slipping a bit this season, to a No. 7 seed.