With the recent news emerging of former Wisconsin Badger guard Braeden Carrington seeking a fifth year of eligibility, questions have begun to arise as to how he would fit in with the new team. It is, of course, no guarantee that Carrington has a spot on the team yet, and as of right now, he is not officially a part of the Badger basketball program.
However, after joining the injunction of players from the class of 2022 who are actively suing the NCAA in hopes of being granted a fifth year to play, Carrington’s return to Wisconsin has begun to pick up steam.
Before anyone gets too excited about this, it's not like Braeden can say "I'm back" and he's on the roster. A desire to seek an additional season of eligibility is just the start of a complicated process with a lot of unknowns.
— Michael McCleary (@MikeJMcCleary) July 14, 2026
Full comments from Gard on where Carrington's at. https://t.co/qpUI3SKW6B pic.twitter.com/2vsgnbUUJY
With that said, if he is able to return to the Badgers for another year, his fit won't be as seamless as it was last year. As of now, this new-look Wisconsin roster has been built meticulously to fit a new system – a system that originally didn't include Carrington.
However, if he were to be granted the extra year, there is no doubt that Carrington would have a spot in the rotation, as he has already proven to be one of the better players on this team. Last season, the 6-foot-5 guard was stellar off the bench for the Badgers, averaging 8.3 points per game while shooting 40.1% from three.
One notable on this: Braeden Carrington, a 2022 class guy who played his senior season for #Badgers last year, was at practice today. Gard was asked if that 15th guy could be Carrington, and Gard said Carrington hasn’t indicated whether or not he will seek an additional year. https://t.co/woFqrNrMpr
— Michael McCleary (@MikeJMcCleary) July 14, 2026
Three-point shooting was always his calling card, evident by him having six games with four or more makes and two with seven or more. Nonetheless, that shooting will translate onto any roster. It's just a matter of how Greg Gard makes it work.
Last season, Wisconsin had a clear two-headed monster in the backcourt with Nick Boyd and John Blackwell, two guys who were capable of taking over any game they were in and did so with great frequency. As a result, it was easy for Carrington to slot into a bench role, with his sole purpose being to come in and hit threes.
New Look
However, this new-look Badger offense doesn't have a clear go-to guy – at least not right now – opening up the opportunity for someone to rise to the occasion. Carrington likely won't be that guy, but it's not unreasonable to think that if he does come back, he will be expecting to start. That would mean overtaking newcomer Trey Autry's spot, a guy who was one of Wisconsin's biggest targets of the offseason.
Not only that, the return of Carrington would also mean young guys like Jackson Ball, Zach Kinziger and Hayden Jones get less opportunity to thrive and develop, potentially stunting their overall growth. Obviously, Carrington would likely be able to make a greater impact for the Badgers than any of those guys, but all in all, it could be dangerous for the future outlook of the program.
The most ideal way to slot Carrington in would be to place him in the same box he was in last year. It may sound harsh to do such, but he already proved that he can thrive in this smaller-usage role and positively contribute to games while doing so. Overall, adding Carrington back into the fold would be a confusing fit, but he is undoubtedly a player worth adding.
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