24/7 Sports has updated its international recruiting rankings in its database, and now Wisconsin has two more 4-star players in its 2025 recruiting class. Hayden Jones and Aleksas Bieliauskas are now both listed in the rankings as 4-star players, which doesn't change the players themselves, but it does change the perception of the recruiting class by Greg Gard.
International recruiting evaluations are often hard to get since most American recruiting scouts typically do not travel overseas to check out players, unlike college coaches. However, with the rise of televised games and more prospects competing in larger international waters, this allows evaluators to adjust.
Jones and Bieliauskas both have recently impressed in their respective FIBA tournaments. Each is helping lift their teams to impressive places. Jones was a star for the New Zealand U19 squad, and Bielauskas helped his Lithuanian U20 team get second place this year.
Hayden Jones and Bieliauskas are now both listed as 4-star recruits by 24/7 Sports
Now Jones and Bieliauskas have been elevated from unranked to 4-star recruits. In fact, both are now listed as the best recruits in Gard's 2025 recruiting class. Bieliauskas is listed at 93 overall, with Jones coming in at 91. For perspective, Will Garlock is an 88, and Zach Kinziger is a 90.
While ultimately recruiting rankings don't mean a whole lot, and they often are tilted towards a limited view of a player, this shows confidence in these two players. Now, Gard Gard has three 4-stars and one 3-star in the class. And yet, Garlock may end up eating up some minutes with how impressive he's been early on. A lot will depend on his footwork in the paint, whether he can play his freshman year or not.
The same is true for Bieliauskas as he's even joining the Badgers a bit later than the other freshmen since he spent extra time with the FIBA U20 tournament going all the way to the championship game. However, now all the freshmen are enrolled and have joined the team, getting ready for an exciting 2025-2026 season.