Wisconsin
Transfer portal class brings much-needed experience to Wisconsin men’s basketball team
Wisconsin’s Greg Gard proud of Garding Against Cancer’s impact
The Badgers coach spoke to reporters before the eighth-annual Garding Against Cancer fundraiser May 2 at the Kohl Center.
MADISON – When Wisconsin men’s basketball coach Greg Gard summed up his transfer portal class for the 2025-26 season one word stood out.
Experience.
The Badgers lost six players who completed their eligibility after this past season. That level of experience is difficult to completely replace, but Gard and his staff did about as well as possible.
In guards Andrew Rohde, Nick Boyd and Braeden Carrington, Wisconsin added three senior-eligible players who combined for 293 games of experience.
“That was important, to be able to bring guys in who had experience because we lose a lot of experience,” Gard said.
Gard spoke to reporters before the eighth-annual ‘Garding Against Cancer’ fundraiser at the Kohl Center. The event attracted more than 600 guests and featured Michigan State coach Tom Izzo as the guest speaker.
The event comes during what has become a busy time for college basketball coaches. Roster building is still in the works for most programs.
Wisconsin has 14 players in place for 2025-26 with one spot to fill.
One of those players is another key portal pickup, Austin Rapp, a 6-10 forward who was the West Coast Conference freshman of the year at Portland this past season.
Steven Crowl, a 7-footer who completed his eligibility, was a 41.6% three-point shooter.
Rapp offers the element of another big in addition to Nolan Winter who can shoot threes. Rapp was a 35.2% shooter (83 of 236) as a freshman, taking three times as many threes as Crowl did last season
“He fits with who we are,” Gard said.
The Badgers also received a commitment from a big who can shoot: Aleksas Bieliauskas, a 6-11 incoming freshman forward from Lithuania.
The Badgers class came together quickly
All of Wisconsin’s additions were announced within three weeks in April and within one month and one day of the team’s season-ending loss to BYU in the second round of the NCAA tournament.
One of the keys to UW’s success last season was its chemistry, which didn’t suffer despite seven newcomers that included three portal pickups.
The team next season will have at least four portal pickups. As was the case last season, Gard and his staff relied on connections to get as good of a feel on those players as possible.
Rohde was recruited by UW at Brookfield Central High School as well as after he entered the portal after his freshman season at St. Thomas. Gard and his staff watched Carrington during his high school days in the Twin Cities and during his first two seasons at Minnesota. He played at Tulsa last season for Amherst native Eric Konkol and former UW assistant Duffy Conroy, two coaches Gard knows well. And some intel from St. Mary’s coach Randy Bennett helped Gard gain better insight into Rapp.
When it comes to the portal, you take good information where ever it can be found.
“A lot of research, a lot of phone calls,” Gard said. “You’re trying to rely on relationships.
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde reflects on early March Madness exit
Wisconsin guard Andrew Rohde said the Badgers ‘thought we could do so many things’ in the NCAA Tournament before it ended abrupty with an upset loss.
Wisconsin men’s basketball has added a sharpshooting wing via the transfer portal.
Miami (Ohio) transfer Eian Elmer has signed with the Badgers, the team announced April 18. The 6-foot-7 wing will join UW with one year of eligibility remaining.
Elmer averaged a career-high 12.7 points and 5.9 rebounds while shooting 49.8% from the field and 42.9% from 3-point range in 2025-26. His production helped the RedHawks go 32-2 and earn an at-large NCAA Tournament bid.
“We are really excited to add another excellent addition to our spring signees,” UW coach Greg Gard said in a release. “Eian brings a wealth of experience and scoring punch as a 6-7 wing. … A terrific shooter, his skillset and production fit excellently into our plan as we build out next year’s team. Throughout our evaluation process, our staff loved his size, power and skill and truly believe he will thrive in our system.”
Elmer is Wisconsin’s third transfer portal addition since the end of the 2025-26 season, joining former George Washington guard Trey Autry and former Hofstra forward Victory Onuetu. UW also added Australian guard Owen Foxwell.
The additions of Autry, Onuetu and now Elmer leave Gard’s staff with three more roster spots to fill ahead of the 2026-27 season.
The Badgers are looking to replace much of their production from a 2025-26 team that went 24-11. Nolan Winter is expected to be the team’s only returning starter after John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas entered the transfer portal and Nick Boyd and Andrew Rohde exhausted their eligibility.
MILWAUKEE – Friday’s severe storms have passed. And with that, the threat of any severe weather has also passed for the immediate future as no storms or rain are expected for several days.
However, plenty of damage remains across southeastern Wisconsin as of Saturday morning, in addition to the ongoing flooding threat.
Several area rivers are at flood stage, and there are multiple river flood warnings in effect.
FOX6 Weekend WakeUp on Saturday begins at 6 a.m.
On the scene in the morning
What we know:
Farmstead damage in Franklin
FOX6’s Hayley Spitler is in Franklin on Saturday morning, April 18, getting a daylight look at the damage from last night’s storms.
Storm damage in Caledonia
Friday’s storms left quite the mark across southern and southeastern Wisconsin, including at L and L Farms and Greenhouse in Caledonia.
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
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School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
The Source: Information in this post was compiled by the FOX6 Weather Experts.
How Aleksas Bieliauskas has grown in first season with Wisconsin Badgers
Wisconsin coach Greg Gard has high praise for Aleksas Bieliauskas about a month into the Lithuania native’s freshman season.
MADISON – One of Wisconsin men’s basketball’s departing transfers is headed to an SEC program with some connections to the Badgers.
Ex-UW forward Aleksas Bieliauskas has committed to South Carolina, he announced on April 17.
Bieliauskas left the Badgers after appearing in all 35 games as a freshman and making 28 starts. He averaged 4.9 points and 4.4 points in 20.2 minutes, and highlights of his freshman year included his five 3-pointers in UW’s upset over eventual national champion Michigan.
He’ll join a program with plenty of Wisconsin ties. South Carolina head coach Lamont Paris was an assistant coach at Wisconsin from 2010-17 on Bo Ryan and Greg Gard’s staffs. South Carolina assistant coach Tanner Bronson and director of video services Roman DiPasquale also are UW alumni.
Bieliauskas is the second of UW’s four departing transfers to commit to a new school. Reserve forward Jack Robison committed to North Dakota State on April 15. Starting guard John Blackwell and reserve forward Riccardo Greppi have not announced their next schools yet.
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