Grading Wisconsin men's basketball's class of 2026

The Wisconsin Badgers men's basketball team has three incoming freshmen for the 2026-27 season.

Head coach Greg Gard had plenty of rebuilding to do after Nick Boyd graduated, and he lost star guard John Blackwell to the transfer portal. Most recently, he failed to bring Wisconsin's 2026 Mr. Basketball Zavier Zens to the program, which was a big loss for this recruiting class.

A few other Badgers entered the portal, which left quite a few spots in this starting lineup wide open. Currently, one of Gard's Class of 2026 recruits is set to be this team's starting point guard.

Owen Foxwell: A

Foxwell is a projected starting guard for the Badgers next season, and for good reason. He'll be coming to Madison as a 22-year old who has professional experience in the NBL.

The 6-foot-2 guard averaged 11.1 points, 4.5 assists, and 3.0 rebounds per game this past season. Gard was able to flip Foxwell from LSU, which is super impressive, as his commitment earlier in the month came at the perfect time.

Jackson Ball: B+

As long as Ball sticks around for a few years, this is an investment that's nearly guaranteed to pay off. The 6-foot-4 guard is a New Zealand native who's made quite a name for himself with the Illawarra Hawks.

Gard has a knack for finding hidden gems outside of the United States, and this should be no different. Ball has experience at the FIBA U-19 Basketball World Cup. On top of that, he was a 20.9 points per game scorer with the Hawke's Bay Hawks a year ago.