2025-26 Team Preview: Wisconsin

The WNBA rules right now, friends.

After the season started with two juggernauts — the Minnesota Lynx and New York Liberty — separating from the pack, both teams have started to slowly join the rest of the fray once again. The Liberty are currently on a two-game losing streak to teams with losing records: The LA Sparks and Dallas Wings. Minnesota lost its first home game to Atlanta (WOO!) over the weekend.

The playoff race is heating up in a big way. Good teams are entering the conversation with teams that I considered elite. It’s going to be such a fun end of the campaign.

Last Week’s Preview (Northwestern)

Table of Contents

• 2024-25 Overview

• Departures

• Returnees

• Incoming Players

• Outlook

2024-25 Overview

Some may argue that it was a bit of a tumultuous season for the Wisconsin Badgers, both on and off the court.

On the court, a 10-2 start in non-conference play, along with a win against Rutgers, was followed by a 3-15 stretch to end the season, as the Badgers struggled mightily against most of their Big Ten opponents. A victory against Michigan in January was Wisconsin’s only in-conference victory against a team that finished above the Badgers in the standings.

But it wasn’t just the losses, it was how Wisconsin was losing: The Badgers had 15 losses by double digits, 13 of which were by 15 or more and 10 (TEN!) of which were by 20 or more.

These losses all came under head coach Marisa Moseley, who had improved Wisconsin’s win total for three straight seasons prior to last year (down from 15 wins in 23-24). But Moseley was under fire for more than the declining record, as there were significant allegations of player mistreatment that came into the public eye during the middle of the season. All of this led to Moseley’s resignation at the end of the season.

The new head coach is Robin Pingeton, who had coached at Missouri since 2010. The Tigers had been declining as of late, and the hire was a surprising one for a variety of reasons, many of which are well laid out here by Drew Hamm at Badgers Ball Knower. But Pingeton is, at the least, very experienced and, as we will get to, has had a better offseason than some (me) had expected, but what team is she inheriting?

While Wisconsin was often blown out, there were certainly bright spots. The Badgers were a far better three-point shooting team this year (28.3% in 23-24), and their offense improved in scoring despite playing at a slower pace.

On the whole, Wisconsin’s Her Hoop Stats rating did improve from 1.4 the season prior, but the Big Ten improved overall at a higher rate which led to the Badgers taking a dip.

Here's last year’s Wisconsin roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures

Eight players are out from last year’s roster, five of which are leaving through the transfer portal. It’s certainly not an ideal outcome, but it’s also not a surprising amount with a coaching change underway.

That being said, it’s who is leaving that really stings.

I could go the rest of this newsletter about the importance of Serah Williams during her time with the Badgers. It’s hard to imagine what their record would have looked like without her the past three seasons. Williams was a monstrous scorer, rebounder and defender inside, and did so with every team knowing that she was the team’s primary threat.

Even in year three, after her significant sophomore rise, Williams weathered the extra coverage and increased her scoring once again from 17.4 → 19.2 PPG. Her efficiency remained relatively steady, and she finished north of two blocks per game for the second straight season. She should be unbelievable at UConn with a more well-rounded attack around her.

Carter McCray is also a major loss, doubly so with Williams’ exit. McCray transitioned well to Big Ten competition after a season at Northern Kentucky, ranking among the best offense rebounders in the conference. For a team that was already mediocre at rebounding with two elite rebounding forwards, losing both makes that an area of concern heading into next season.

The three graduates of Halle Douglass, Natalie Leuzinger and Tess Myers leaves Wisconsin without some key shooting options, specifically Leuzinger who really found her shot in her final season. Tessa Grady, Gracie Grzesk and D’Yanis Jimenez are the remaining losses, and hurt more for their potential as three more underclassmen (along with McCray) that are out the door with multiple years of eligibility.

Returnees

Wisconsin nearly had a ninth departure this offseason, but the Badgers should be very thankful they didn’t. Ronnie Porter’s decision to exit the portal and return for her senior season is massive. She immediately becomes Wisconsin’s most important returnee and will likely run the offense in whatever form it takes for next season.

Porter led all Big Ten players in assist-to-turnover ratio (minimum 1 APG) and is a pesky defender with all 5-4 of her height. She can take a step with her scoring, but made large enough strides to her passing efficiency last season that she will be effective regardless. Moseley clearly trusted Porter, as she played the guard over 32 minutes per game each of the last two seasons.

Lily Krahn is a name to watch for. She was a combined 9-for-32 over her first two seasons with the Badgers, but took a huge leap as a junior, taking on a steady role and becoming a high-volume three shooter when called upon (3.6 3PT made per 40 mins). That feels like a role she can continue to thrive in under Pingeton this season.

The five remaining returnees are hard to comment on for their collegiate games to this point, as they have not seen much action yet, but four of them are incoming sophomores who should have a major opportunity for an increased role, especially with a new coach coming in.

As I mentioned above, Pingeton’s hire was initially met with plenty of skepticism, but she has made the most of her offseason to this point. Getting four returnees from last year’s freshman class is one of her strongest pros thus far, as all four easily could have left for a new opportunity after very limited run last season. Instead, they chose to return, and hopefully we will see some rewards from that.

Incoming Players

The other major pro in Pingeton’s early Wisconsin tenure is this incoming transfer class. These six names really impress me, and should give the Badgers much more firepower than I would have assumed.

Destiny Howell, Kyrah Daniels and Breauna Ware should all be excellent bolsters to Wisconsin’s guard room, as they are very experienced mid-major players with solid playmaking and scoring abilities. Howell’s three point volume could be especially useful based on Wisconsin’s exits, and Ware’s skill at getting to the line is definitely a translatable skill for anyone who has watched Big Ten’s officiating.

NC State transfers have a solid Big Ten track record, and Laci Steele is a former four-star who could blossom with more opportunities. I also like the move to bring in Shay Bollin, who has stints at both Duke and Illinois and was a capable perimeter shooter in limited run for the Illini.

The move that excites me the most, however, is Gift Uchenna Okeke, who was fantastic in her first collegiate season on a very, very bad Southern Illinois team. Don’t let the win share number scare you: Uchenna was the only SIU player to finish with a win share total above 0.1, as the team won just three games all season. She was a dominant player in Taiwan for two seasons before playing collegiate ball, and with how quickly she impressed last season, I have high hopes it will be a smooth transition into the Big Ten.

Pingeton has also added two incoming freshmen who put up solid numbers in their respective areas. Dorja Iva Zaja fills a key need for Wisconsin, who lacks an abundance of forward options, while Kerstein had a very decorated high school career in Illinois. Wisconsin appears to be hoping for a solid foundation by choosing someone as experienced as Pingeton, which makes getting the incoming first-year players that much more important.

Outlook

Projected Starters

• Ronnie Porter - G

• Lily Krahn - G

• Destiny Howell - G

• Shay Bollin - G

• Gift Uchenna Okeke - F

Projected Big Ten Finish: 14th

After how Wisconsin’s season ended last season, and the controversy with the head coaching hire the Badgers’ ultimately went for, I thought that it could all bottom out for this program like it did a few years ago. But, as of the end of July, I am feeling more optimism at the way this roster is currently shaped, and I do believe the team can improve off of where they were last year.

To do so without the help of Serah Williams will be a tall task, but I’m hoping Pingeton can bring her efficient offenses from Missouri over with her. Porter is a great point guard to get all of these new pieces involved, and I believe that Howell and Bollin have the right size (Howell 6-0, Bollin 6-3) and skillset to be starting pieces right away, especially with Bollin’s in-conference experience.

I don’t think Wisconsin expects Uchenna to become the next Williams, but she should be filling that role and get ample opportunity to be a key focal point. At the least, her rebounding ability is remarkable and should be relied on in a big way for a team that lost so much in that area. Finally, I think Krahn has a great chance to earn a starting nod and continue to increase her workload after the promise she showed last season.

Wisconsin has less star power than it did, which was always going to be the case when Williams departed. But this roster feels deeper and more experienced on the whole thanks to the excellent transfer portal haul.

If all of those pieces can connect fast, and the freshmen adds can also get involved, I see a world where the Badgers surprise people and move up these standings to 12th or 13th. Still, there are also too many unknowns for me to confidently place them any higher than here.

I think a coaching change was necessary for this team, and we will just have to wait and see if Wisconsin made the right call on who it chose to be that new face. But the early signs for Pingeton in the portal have been positive, and I believe there’s reason for Wisconsin fans to feel some genuine optimism, even in the face of losing one of the program’s all-time best talents.

Photo Credit: Wisconsin Athletics

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