The Wisconsin Badgers have operated with 14 official players on their roster for much of the offseason, but they’ve had a plan for their 15th spot: senior guard Braeden Carrington.
The team’s sixth man a year ago, Carrington has been a part of the group of the Class of 2022 seniors looking for a fifth year of eligibility, with cases happening all over the country. And finally, just a few weeks before the season, a group of 76 seniors, including Carrington, was granted eligibility after a California judge granted an injunction in the Glancey v. NCAA case, according to On3’s Pete Nakos.
A hearing took place on Tuesday, and the ruling to grant the injunction was issued on Tuesday afternoon. The NCAA is set to appeal, but Carrington and a number of other seniors are currently set to get eligibility for the upcoming season. The lawsuit also included players such as Jaxon Kohler, Donovan Dent, Skyy Clark, Xaivian Lee, Jordan Pope, and others.
A 6’5, 200-pound wing, Carrington averaged 8.3 points and 2.4 rebounds off the bench last year for the Badgers, while shooting 40.8 percent from the field and 40.1 percent from three, both career-highs. He averaged 18 minutes per game, a career-low, but still saw bests in his shooting percentage and points per game.
Off the bench, Carrington had a couple of memorable games. He dropped 32 points with nine three-pointers in a road win over Washington back in February. He had 21 points with seven threes in Wisconsin’s 78-75 win over his former school, Minnesota. He hit double figures in six other games as well.
Now, in 2026, he’ll join an already crowded Badgers backcourt. Wisconsin landed Owen Foxwell and Trey Autry in the transfer portal after retaining Jack Janicki, Zach Kinziger, and Hayden Jones. The Badgers also brought in four-star freshman Jackson Ball, who has looked good in the offseason.
As a result, there will have to be a minutes squeeze somewhere in the backcourt, with only so many to go around, but Carrington could be a potential starter for the Badgers at shooting guard as he continues to ramp up and the season nears. Wisconsin has started Jack Janicki at shooting guard in each of its first two exhibition games.
If he doesn’t start, Carrington could reprise a similar, or even bigger role than last year, as the first man off the bench.