Nolan Winter is keeping the University of Wisconsin from undergoing a full rebuild.
While Winter has not formally signed any documents to secure his return to the Badgers in 2026-27 to complete his eligibility, a program source confirms that he is returning, giving Wisconsin a critical cornerstone for recruiting future transfers as the team rebuilds its roster.
After classmate John Blackwell declared on Monday that he would join the NBA Draft process and the transfer portal to pursue the highest level I can reach, retaining Winter became extremely important to Wisconsin. CBB Content broke the news of Winter’s plans.
Losing Winter to a similar fate would be just as sad, if not more so. The junior is coming off his finest collegiate season, which was also one of the finest for a Big Ten frontcourt player. In 31 starts as a sophomore, Winter improved from 9. 4 points and 5. 8 rebounds to 13. 1 points and 8. 5 rebounds on 56. 9% shooting.
He ended the season with 12 double-doubles, the third-most by a UW player since the 2000-01 season, and a 133. 4 offensive rating, according to KenPom, which ranked 20th in the country.
Last season, Winter made 70. 1% of his two-point field goals, making him the first qualifying Big Ten player since 1986-87 to shoot at least 70% inside the arc.
Since the 1992-93 season, Winter has been the conference’s finest two-point field goal shooter, with a 69. 35% shooting percentage, marginally ahead of Hall of Famer Chris Webber (67. 91% at Michigan).
With Winter’s choice and the return of junior Austin Rapp (9. 7 ppg, 4. 0 rebounds) and sophomore Will Garlock (1. 1 ppg, 1. 1 rebounds), the Badgers will retain three of their top forwards from last season’s rotation. On the first day of the gateway window, sophomore Aleksas Bieliauskas (4. 9 points, 4. 4 rebounds) stated that he will transfer.
UW is likely to add another frontcourt player via the portal, especially since the Badgers presently lack one projected frontcourt player on their roster, with reserves Riccardo Greppi and Jack Robison entering the portal.
The Badgers are also likely to target many guards in the portal to replace graduating seniors Nick Boyd, Braeden Carrington, and Andrew Rohde, as well as transfer Blackwell. Following Winter’s announcement, the Badgers’ 15-man roster includes six returning players, two incoming high school freshmen, and one international freshman (point guard Owen Foxwell).
