Why Nolan Winter Will Finish His Career at Wisconsin

MADISON, Wis. — Nolan Winter didn’t wait too long following Wisconsin’s NCAA Tournament Round of 64 loss to High Point to begin the negotiating process. In fact, it was the day after the Badgers were upset by the Panthers that Winter began to sit down with his parents and agents, discussing options for his senior season. Although he’s repped by one of the biggest agencies out there, Priority Sports, Winter made it clear from the jump he wanted to return to UW in 2026-27, and the end goal was to make that happen — regardless of what else was out there.

“My agents are getting calls and stuff. They relay the information to me,” Winter told reporters during a ZOOM on Monday. “So, I’m getting all these teams in my head. My agents know I want to be a Badger, and this is where I want to be. I’ve made that clear from day one I’ve met them going into last year. I want to be a Badger and do anything you can to make sure that’s possible.

“It’s hard not to hear what other teams have to say and offer and everything. But, like I said, I’m super thankful my agents made this process super easy for me. They laid out all the options I had, what I could do, and like I told them, this is where I want to be.”

As a follow-up, Winter was asked if he knew how much money he turned down to remain with Wisconsin. His response?

“Honestly, yeah, I do.”

Given his athleticism and shooting ability at seven feet tall, Winter’s market value was rumored to be among the highest in the nation. Sort of a 1-of-1 prospect, Winter was second in the Big Ten Conference last season with 12 double-doubles and missed a couple of games at the end of the season with an ankle injury.

While Winter declined to give a number of what he turned down, the senior forward let it be known that his three-year experience at UW more than outweighed the additional dollars at other programs.

“Like I’ve continued to say, being a Badger has meant everything to me,” said Winter. “And what they’ve offered me for three years is more than anything I could have asked for. To be here for four years, I think, is pretty special in today’s day and age. To be able to say you’re one of the few players in the nation to be at a school for four years, continuing to develop — getting to the NBA has been my dream since I was a little kid, and what I continue to strive for.

“I truly believe being here gives me the best shot at doing that.”

Winter said he made his final decision to stay roughly a few weeks after the transfer portal opened.

“This is where I’m the happiest,” said Winter. “I’m happy here. I love it here. I love the relationships I’ve built with everyone, my teammates. And think we got a good group of guys coming in, so we’re going to be fun to watch next year.”

As a junior, Winter averaged 13.1 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. He shot 57 percent from the field, including 33 percent from 3-point range.

However, Winter will have to move forward without his running mate, fellow senior John Blackwell, who, unlike Winter, will not finish his career at Wisconsin, but instead will take his talents to Duke next season.

“That’s my dude, that’s my brother….With JB, he’s gotta do what’s best for him. I’ve got nothing bad to say about JB,” Winter stated. “He’s going to go succeed at Duke and hopefully beyond that. I’m a big fan of his. Obviously, I would have loved it if he could have stayed, but it is what it is in today’s day and age, and I wish nothing but the best for him.”

Wisconsin also lost fellow starting forward Alexkas Bieliauskas. However, the Badgers were able to add three bodies from the portal, small forward Eian Elmer (Miami OH), guard Trey Autry (George Washington), and center Victory Onuetu (Hofstra). In the case of Onuetu, Winter is very excited to have an athletic, shot-blocking presence next to him, something he hasn’t had during his entire collegiate career.

“He’s going to be this huge rim protector for us, something we haven’t had in a while,” said Winter. “He’s going to be fun to play with. I’ll throw him a couple of lobs. I’m sure he’ll go get them. Having his length out there is going to be awesome.”

Over the last two seasons, Winter has been playing out of position at the center spot. And if Steven Crowl got in foul trouble during Winter’s freshman season, it was his task to hold down the paint. Now, with Onuetu, and sophomore Will Garlock, Wisconsin has its most athletic pair of centers in the Greg Gard era.

“I think it’s going to be a blast to play with someone of his size and athleticism,” Winter stated. “Being able to play alongside and guard the ‘4’, I think that’s a little more natural for me. I’ve learned to guard the ‘5’ these last two years, but guarding the ‘4’ is something I’m a little more natural with.

“Having two guys out there that are able to do that, it’s going to be awesome to have them kind of carry the load down there. Having a true post presence will be awesome.”

Dominated by guards as of late, Wisconsin has had a great run with the likes of Johnny Davis, A.J. Storr, John Tonje, and Blackwell. The 2026-27 Badgers could be a more forward-centric group with Winter, Elmer, and junior Austin Rapp leading the charge. Incoming guard Owen Foxwell, out of Australia, is also known for being a pass-first playmaker.

“Obviously, we’ve got a really good point guard with Foxwell coming in. He’s going to be able to dish and find guys,” Winter explained. “I think it’s going to add another wrinkle in our offense, throw a new wrinkle that teams that they haven’t seen these past couple of years.

“When it comes to scoring and the roles with that — I know a lot of people say it, but it’s true over here. Nobody honestly cares about their points or stats. I know the coaches do a great job of recruiting the right guys to the locker room, so I’m confident that this whole team is going to have one goal in mind, and that’s to make a run in March.

Winter had a career-high 26 points and 12 rebounds in an overtime loss to Indiana on Feb. 7. That was one of two 20-point performances for Winter, who also scored 23 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in another overtime loss to Villanova. With Blackwell and leading scorer Nick Boyd (graduation) moving on, it could be Winter’s show next season.

Finishing with a 24-11 overall record, including a 14-6 mark in Big Ten Conference play, it took UW until mid-January to find its stride as a team. After Jan. 5, the Badgers posted a 15-5 record, including five wins over Associated Press top 15-ranked squads. With currently eight new faces set to arrive this summer, Winter wants to lead early and hopefully avoid another slow start.

“Last year, it took too long, a little longer than we wanted to find success,” said Winter. “Once we found it, I don’t think there were many teams better than us in the nation when we hit our stride and firing on all cylinders. We’ve got to do the things we were doing in January in the fall. We’ve got to come together earlier in the summer.

“Last year, we were a really close team, but I think on the court, we were just trying to learn our games. This year, it might be more open gyms, something like that, to really find ourselves, where we need to be on the court, where guys’ spots are, where they like the ball.

“We don’t want to go through that same thing we did last year. The success we found in the second half of the season is something we’re going to strive for.”