What’s next for the Badgers after Austin Rapp’s return?

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - MARCH 14: Austin Rapp #22 of the Wisconsin Badgers prepares to shoot the ball in the first half against the Michigan Wolverines during the semifinals of the 2026 Big Ten Men's Basketball Tournament at the United Center on March 14, 2026 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Geoff Stellfox/Getty Images) | Getty Images

The Wisconsin Badgers got some big, albeit expected, news on Sunday evening when forward Austin Rapp announced his return for the 2026-27 season on social media.

In today’s world, that has become the norm, with every year essentially being a one-year contract with the never-ending transfer portal. While Wisconsin lost John Blackwell and Aleksas Bieliauskas last week, it was a good sign that they were able to lock in Rapp’s return, giving them a key cog in the frontcourt for next season.

Rapp faced his ups and downs last year, but really showed his potential down the stretch, growing as an efficient scorer, defender, and with his physicality, which he’ll look to work on more this offseason.

Now, with the Australian forward in the fold, what’s next for the Badgers?

The biggest remaining agenda item is finalizing the return of Nolan Winter, which was the team’s biggest priority this offseason. Everything on that front has been positive since the start of the offseason, and there could be some good news there coming very soon following this announcement.

Looking behind Winter, the Badgers should have the rest of their core set for the following season as well in the coming days. That includes returners Jack Janicki, Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, and Will Garlock. Wisconsin is also bringing in wing LaTrevion Fenderson and guard Jackson Ball in its 2026 class, with an addition or two potentially on the way as well.

With how year-to-year the portal is, it’s important to have ready-now players who can contribute, and I’d expect each of the returners to compete for a role in the rotation next season. Still, that’s a rather young group without much experience, so the Badgers are going to have to navigate the transfer portal with their six open roster spots.

Through the first week of the portal, we’ve seen several top names come off the board. Usually, the first wave of transfers comes with a high price notably, which we saw on Sunday with Louisville’s addition of Jackson Shelstad and Flory Bidunga. After that initial wave is where you might see prices start to drop and teams like the Badgers begin to pounce on some of their targets.

Still, there are multiple needs for Wisconsin to fill. The Badgers are actively looking at guards/wings in the transfer portal, looking to set up some visits there soon. But another big might still be a need alongside Rapp and Winter.

Remember, the Badgers were looking to have a core four of Winter, Rapp, Aleksas Bieliauskas, and Will Garlock in the frontcourt heading into the offseason. A key area of improvement was the need for an athletic, shot-blocking type of big that can provide the physicality the Big Ten requires to take some of the load off Winter.

Now, bigs like that in the transfer portal are arguably the most costly acquisition, and Wisconsin isn’t a team that can compete with the top tier of NIL spenders, so it’ll need to have some good evals and find a good fit within its price range.

Those are the key needs for the Badgers, but adding some experience to compete off the bench (like a Braeden Carrington) is something the staff always looks for, and might need given the number of open roster spots.

The first good piece of news for Wisconsin came on Sunday night. Now, it’s time to see the rest of the plan come to fruition.