Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter reveals decision for 2026-27 season

Wisconsin forward Nolan Winter will return to the Badgers for his senior season, according to Nick Osen.

Winter averaged an impressive 13.1 points, 8.5 rebounds, 1.5 assists and 1.2 blocks during his standout junior campaign in 2025-26. He's improved his numbers each year since joining the Badgers in 2023-24, the latest jump coinciding with him becoming the team's frontcourt leader.

The Lakeville, Minnesota, native will likely test the NBA waters after his college career concludes. Luckily for Wisconsin, that is now set to happen after the 2026-27. Even more notably, Winter opted to return to the program rather than enter the transfer portal, a different decision from the one John Blackwell made earlier this month.

Winter's return is major news for a program that is set to lose four starters entering 2026-27. Nick Boyd, who is off to the NBA, and Blackwell headline the list of departures. The Badgers also lost Braeden Carrington and Andrew Rohde, who exhausted their eligibility, and Aleksas Bieliauskas, who transferred out.

Greg Gard and his coaching staff will be busy in the transfer portal over the following weeks. As has been the case during the last few offseasons, the program's portal haul will go a long way toward dictating its success in 2026-27. Winter's return at least gives the team and starting rotation some continuity.

Thankfully for Badgers fans, they didn't have to dwell on Blackwell's decision to join Duke for too long, as Winter returning sure eases some of the pain. No one seemed to think he was going anywhere else, but it's interesting that it took until the final day the portal was open for him to make this decision.

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