MADISON, Wis. – In the challenging college landscape, having rosters impacted by the transfer portal and booming name, image, and likeness agreements, the University of Wisconsin men’s basketball program went back to a familiar formula to fill its recruiting class: lockdown the best players in the state.

When the Badgers announce their 2025 signing class on Wednesday, DePere guard Zach Kinziger and Middleton center Will Garlock will be the first in-state players to sign with the Badgers since La Crosse’s Johnny Davis and Jordan Davis inked with Greg Gard’s program in 2019.

With an offense that has begun to rely heavily on perimeter shooting and low-post play, the Badgers’ coaching staff hopes it addressed both needs without traveling outside the state’s border.

Before officially signing with the program, BadgerBlitz.com takes a closer look at Kinziger and how his addition improves the program.

Garlock has been remarkably consistent with his shooting percentage over his last two varsity seasons. He shot 66.3 percent from the floor his sophomore year (11.4 points per game) and 66.5 percent last season (16.9 ppg). One area of concern is his free-throw shooting, as he shot 58.5 percent as a sophomore (48-for-82) and 48.9 percent last season (64-131).

“In general, me being an actual 7-footer and having that presence down low, I got better at taking people off the dribble and did better with my inside-out game,” Garlock said. “From my sophomore to junior year, I put on a lot more size and muscle which helped me with my speed and defensive work. I felt I was a good rim protector for our team last year. Overall, my presence down low was a great thing for our team on both ends of the floor.”

The second commitment in Wisconsin’s 2024 class, Garlock committed to Wisconsin over Iowa. The three-star prospect had other offers from Marquette, Penn State, and Virginia Tech. He was also getting varying degrees of interest from Florida State, Iowa State, Minnesota, Notre Dame, Purdue, and Virginia.

Marquette was the first school to come through with a scholarship offer for Garlock in May 2023, but the Badgers had been closely watching. When Garlock arrived at UW’s advanced camp in June and performed admirably with his touch around the rim and his footwork, he left with a scholarship offer.

“Going into the camp, I had all the confidence in the world that I could compete with everyone who was there,” Garlock said. “Being the hometown kid, it’s a dream to be able to play for your home state. It was really exciting for my career.”

Unlike Kinziger, who didn’t wait long to commit after receiving his camp offer, Garlock took his time. He took a pair of unofficial visits to Iowa and picked up Big Ten scholarships from the Hawkeyes and Penn State. While keeping an open mind during the process, living close to UW and having an offer from the Badgers likely hurt Garlock from getting wider interest from other schools, believing it was only a matter of time before he would commit to Wisconsin.

Suffering an ankle injury playing on the AAU circuit didn’t help matters either, as undergoing surgery knocked Garlock out of some spring and summer basketball, preventing more schools from evaluating him. That was good news for the Badgers, who locked up his commitment this past August.

“Wisconsin was home for me,” Garlock said. “I saw it as the right fit for me with Coach Gard and Coach Krabbenhoft, everyone that’s there, the players, the community that Wisconsin brings is really good. It’s going to be great.”

“Everything translates really well for him at Wisconsin. He’s a very versatile kid and he fits in the new style of college basketball. Wisconsin is spreading the floor with a lot of dribble handoffs and ball screens. The spacing of the floor and how they involve their bigs in the offense fits Will really well.”

- Middleton HS Coach Kevin Bavery

“My dominance down low on the offensive and defensive end, being able to rim protect, block shots or alter the shots. Being able to finish around defenders and finish through contact are things that I have been building on. Things that have definitely improved going into my senior year is my outside game and my three-point shooting.”

“I have been working on my shooting and that’s something that can improve. Me as a big, if I can get my playmaking down, that would be a game changer to be able to find people and be a good passer at my height. That’s one strength that I want to get better at, as well as guarding smaller defenders and on the perimeter.”

“All the pieces are kind of coming together. I talked to Coach Gard a couple of days ago and he said everyone is fitting and gelling really well. I think the transfers bring a lot of variety to the table. We’re going to surprise a lot of people. We always seem to shock people at the end (of the season).”

It was rare for Garlock to see players that could come close to his height last season, making it hard to truly measure how he’ll stack up when he needs to battle Big Ten frontcourt players. Fortunately, he’s a player who recognizes that he has a long way to go in his development, all the while having a good foundation for a big with his post-mobility, length, and passing ability.

A player who shoots a high percentage at the rim, Garlock has shown that he’s comfortable getting touches on the perimeter and can put the ball on the floor to get to the rim – all things UW is looking for from its bigs.

“I have reached nowhere near my potential,” Garlock said. “It’ll important for me to put in the work with lifting and build off that. You don’t face the best competition in high school, but my own work will help me for the next step in college. Sometimes people say it’s easier in college because I get double and triple-teamed in high school. Being able to gradually step into whatever role that Wisconsin will give me will be good.”

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