The Wisconsin Badgers will not have two of their three freshmen on the court for the upcoming season, head coach Greg Gard shared this week.
Earlier in the week, Wisconsin revealed that freshman guard Josh Manchester would miss the season due to season-ending shoulder surgery. Manchester, a 6’4, 180-pound guard from Mt. Horeb, averaged 30.1 points per game as a high school senior and finished high school with 2,534 points, the 10th-most in Wisconsin state history. He joined the Badgers as a walk-on.
In addition, three-star wing LaTrevion Fenderson will sit out the 2026-27 season and focus on academics, Gard said after the team’s exhibition win on Saturday. Fenderson, a native of Racine, Wisconsin, was the No. 3 in-state recruit in the Class of 2026 and was a borderline four-star recruit by 247Sports.
He had committed to Wisconsin back in August of 2024. With the 5-for-5 rule coming into play, there is no more redshirting in college athletics, but it sounds like Fenderson is essentially taking a redshirt year, which wasn’t a surprise.
Wisconsin is entering the season with a ton of depth. They rotated 11 players in the exhibition game on Saturday, and that was without Austin Rapp, who is still recovering from offseason surgery.
In the backcourt, the Badgers had Owen Foxwell and Jack Janicki start at guard, with Zach Kinziger, Trey Autry, Hayden Jones, Braeden Carrington, and Jackson Ball all coming in as reserves. On the wing, Eian Elmer got the start, while Nolan Winter and Victory Onetu started in the frontcourt. Off the bench, Wisconsin also had Will Garlock play key minutes.
With those 11 and Rapp, the rotation was already crowded and is likely to shrink as the regular season goes on. So it makes sense for Fenderson not to suit up this year as he develops before competing for a role as a sophomore.
