Wisconsin basketball guard announces return for 2025-26 season

USA Today

05-04-2025

Wisconsin basketball guard announces return for 2025-26 season
Wisconsin guard Jack Janicki officially announced his return to the Badgers for the 2025-26 season on Friday afternoon.
The White Bear Lake, Minnesota, native shared his message via Instagram, saying "Grass is greener where you water it."
Janicki's announcement arrives on the same day that forward Nolan Winter committed to return to Greg Gard's program for the 2025-26 season. It also follows star guard John Blackwell announcing his decision to enter the 2025 NBA draft while maintaining collegiate eligibility.
Janicki is now poised to assume a larger role for the Badgers in his second season with the program. After redshirting his 2023-24 season, the 6-foot-5 guard burst onto the scene as one of Wisconsin's primary bench contributors in 2024-25, alongside Kamari McGee, Carter Gilmore and Xavier Amos.
Janicki appeared in all 37 of the team's games, averaging 11.4 minutes, 1,9 points, 1.4 rebounds and 0.8 assists per contest. While the statistics don't jump off the page, Janicki shined in several big spots. His 11-point performance against the Purdue Boilermakers on Feb. 15, eight-tally output against the Minnesota Golden Gophers on March 5 and nine-point outing against the Arizona Wildcats on Nov. 15 proved critical in signature victories for UW this past season.
The Minnesota product joined the Badgers' program in 2023 as a preferred walk-on over opportunities at Colorado State, Wake Forest, Loyola (Chicago), Harvard, Rice, St. Thomas, Santa Clara and Vermont. At White Bear Lake High School, he became the first player in program history to score 2,000 career points and led it to its first state tournament appearance since 2000.
While Wisconsin lost Max Klesmit, Steven Crowl, John Tonje, McGee and Gilmore this offseason, the return of Winter, Blackwell and Janicki are significant victories in an ever-changing transfer landscape.
UW also landed Virginia transfer guard Andrew Rohde on Thursday, the first portal addition of the 2025 offseason. He, Winter and Blackwell, who will likely forgo the NBA and return to Madison for his junior season, will lace up as three of Wisconsin's five starters this coming season. Janicki and forward Xavier Amos will likely return as key bench contributors.
In terms of what Janicki could provide, fans witnessed his shooting capabilities and toughness throughout the season. With McGee and Gilmore gone from the Badgers' bench unit, both Janicki and Amos should see an uptick in minutes production in 2025-26.
For more on how the 2025-26 Badgers line up, here is our latest starting lineup and rotation projection.
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