Wisconsin HC Greg Gard loses veteran transfer Chris Hodges to mid-major conference

Wisconsin coach Greg Gard lost transfer forward Chris Hodges to Montana State, a Division I mid-major program affiliated with the Big Sky Conference. The 6-foot-9 Hodges played for three seasons with the Badgers, appearing in 40 games.

The Schaumburg, Illinois native scored a combined four points during those games and made only 1-of-10 attempts from the field. He normally plays at the end of the game when the game is already settled.

Hodges is expected to secure more minutes with the Bobcats as an incoming fourth-year player from the Big 10 Conference. Montana State went 9-9 in the Big Sky to finish fifth in the conference and 15-18 overall.

They made the Big Sky Tournament semifinals after beating No. 4 seed Idaho State 80-60. Unfortunately, they succumbed to top seed Northern Colorado 72-45 in the tournament semifinals and weren't invited to any postseason invitational tournaments.

Wisconsin, on the other hand, finished the regular season at 23-8 (13-7 in the Big 10). They made the Big Ten Championship game, beating Northwestern, UCLA and Michigan State.

The Badgers lost to Michigan 59-53 in the tournament final but made it to the NCAA Tournament as the No. 3 seed in the East Region. They outplayed No. 14 Montana in the first round 85-66 before losing to No. 6-ranked BYU 91-89 in the second round.

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Greg Gard's Wisconsin adds Lithuanian forward, Tulsa transfer to 2025-26 roster

The Greg Gard-coached Wisconsin added Lithuanian forward Aleksas Bieliauskas and Tulsa transfer Braeden Carrington to complete its roster of 13 scholarship players for the 2025-26 season.

The 6-foot-9 Bieliauskas drew interest from several high-major college basketball programs, including Kansas, before committing to Wisconsin. The Lithuanian has a fairly-polished skillset and valuable international experience that is expected to be a perfect fit in the NCAA

Bieliauskas played with Zalgiris II last season and averaged 11.4 points, 6.4 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game. He made 53.4% from inside the perimeter and 40% from the 3-point line.

Meanwhile, Carrington had a career season with Tulsa, averaging 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 1.1 steals per game. He shot 35.1% from the field and 33.6% from the 3-point line.

Aside from Carrington and Bielauskas, the rest of the Wisconsin roster includes Nick Boyd, Andrew Rohde, Austn Rapp, John Blackwell, Nolan Winter, Jack Janicki, Zach Kinsinger, Hayden Jones, Jack Robison, Riccardo Greppi and Will Garlick.

On paper, the Badgers have a deep roster of three high school recruits, four transfers, an international talent and five returnees from the 2024-25 season. The Badgers are expected to add one or two more walk-ons before the new season starts to complete the 15-man lineup.