What Wisconsin players said about future plans after NCAA Tournament loss
· Yahoo Sports
PORTLAND, OR – As the final buzzer rang in Wisconsin’s heartbreaking 83-82 upset loss to High Point in the men’s NCAA Tournament, it was the end of one season and the start of another.
Wisconsin’s 2025-26 basketball season has concluded, and the roster reconstruction season is underway.
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“You got to reconstruct the roster,” Wisconsin coach Greg Gard said. “And we’ve already been working on retention, trying to work through that. … That’s the new reality of this. You start back over, put the pieces together.”
Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Braeden Carrington and Isaac Gard were in their final years of eligibility. The other 10 UW players have decisions (or had decisions) to make in the constant era of roster flux.
Here is what some Wisconsin players said about their futures in the immediate aftermath of the Badgers’ season-ending loss:
John Blackwell does not indicate future plans
Wisconsin guard John Blackwell – clearly still struck with emotion – did not indicate what his plans are for 2026-27.
“I don’t know yet,” Blackwell said. “After the loss, I don’t know. But I don’t know, just praying to God and hoping for the best situation.”
Blackwell tested the NBA draft waters after the 2024-25 season before deciding to return to Wisconsin for his junior season. ESPN ranked Blackwell as the 65th-best prospect in this year’s draft class in its Feb. 12 rankings.
The third-team all-Big Ten honoree would likely have considerable value in the transfer portal market. Michigan State coach Tom Izzo, for example, has said Blackwell is “one of my favorite players.” Yaxel Lendeborg, this year’s Big Ten player of the year, told the Associated Press that he was offered $7 million to $9 million to transfer to Kentucky instead of Michigan.
Austin Rapp leaves no ambiguity with decision to stay
Forward Austin Rapp “100%” plans to stick with the Badgers in 2026-27, he said in the locker room.
“This wasn’t a one-year thing for me,” Rapp said. “This is a couple-year thing. I want to be here, and I love this group. I love the staff. I love the support staff. … It’s kind of a family away from home in a sense.”
Rapp, who has two years of eligibility remaining, can “come out of this year knowing that I’ve got 13 or 14 brothers with me for life.”
“I’m so grateful for the coaching staff and these guys, these players,” Rapp said. “Man, they push me every day. They made me a better player, not just on the court. Off the court, too. I’m a better person than I was six months ago, and I’m a better player than I was six months ago.”
Rapp averaged 9.7 points per game while shooting 41.9% from the field and 36.3% from 3-point range. He improved drastically as the season progressed, with his six 3-pointers in six minutes in the Big Ten semifinals against No. 3 Michigan being one of the later highlights.
“Haven’t really been able to think about anything over the past 20 minutes other than we just lost lost to High Point, so I’ll reflect,” Rapp said. “But I love my time here, and yeah, there’s no doubt I’ll be back next year.”
Nolan Winter expresses desire to return, but first trying to ‘soak this all in’
Forward Nolan Winter was trying to “live minute-by-minute and soak this all in” after the Badgers’ March Madness loss when asked about his potential future with the Badgers.
“Obviously I want to be back here, but like I said, right now I’m worried about my team and my brothers and the relationships that we’ve built all year coming to an end,” he said. “So that’s really all I’m worried about. But yeah, I want to be back here.”
Winter, like Blackwell, has one year of eligibility remaining. He averaged 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game and recorded 12 double-doubles. The only other UW players since 2000 with 10 or more double-doubles in one season were Ethan Happ and Frank Kaminsky.
Jack Janicki looks forward to improving as Badger in 2026-27
Redshirt sophomore guard Jack Janicki expects more from himself in 2026-27 after a 2025-26 season derailed by a wrist injury that required surgery.
“Obviously my role on this team was behind obviously the best backcourt in the country and the best shooter in the country,” Janicki said. “So I had to find other ways to contribute to the team. And next year, I want to step up the way some of those guys did this year.”
He made it clear that he will be seeking that improvement while remaining a Badger.
“I wouldn’t be saying all this stuff about loving my experience here and looking forward to what could be if I didn’t really truly want to be here,” Janicki said.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: What Wisconsin players said about future after NCAA Tournament loss