Nolan Winter

Nolan Winter
No. 31 – Wisconsin Badgers
PositionPower Forward/Center
LeagueBig Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2005-11-13) November 13, 2005
Listed height7 ft 0 in (2.13 m)
Listed weight220 lb (100 kg)
Career information
High schoolLakeville North
(Lakeville, Minnesota)
CollegeWisconsin (2023–present)

Nolan Winter (born November 13, 2005) is an American college basketball player for the Wisconsin Badgers of the Big Ten Conference.

High school career

Winter attended Lakeville North in Lakeville, Minnesota. During his junior season, Winter averaged 17.8 points (49.8% FG) and 8.3 rebounds. As a senior, Winter averaged 23.4 points and 11.6 rebounds per game, which helped guide Lakeville North to a record of 28–4 and a trip to the 2023 Class 4A state tournament semifinals. Following the season, Winter was named as the Minnesota Gatorade Boys Basketball Player of the Year along with being one of five finalists for Minnesota Mr. Basketball.[1]

Recruiting

Winter received nine NCAA Division I offers. He chose Wisconsin over offers from his parents' alma mater Minnesota, as well as those from Stanford, Wake Forest, Xavier and Oregon State.[2]

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Nolan Winter
PF
Lakeville, MN Lakeville North High School 6 ft 10 in (2.08 m) 190 lb (86 kg) Sep 23, 2022 
Recruit ratings: Scout:    Rivals:    247Sports:    (80)
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2023 Wisconsin Commitments". Rivals. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  • "Men's Basketball Recruiting". Scout. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  • "ESPN- Wisconsin Badgers Men's Basketball Recruiting". ESPN. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  • "Scout.com Team Recruiting Rankings". Scout. Retrieved June 2, 2023.
  • "2023 Team Ranking". Rivals. Retrieved June 2, 2023.

College career

Freshman season

In his debut, Winter led the team with seven rebounds in a 105–76 win Arkansas State.[3] Winter served as the primary backup to established starters Tyler Wahl and Steven Crowl, playing in all 36 of the Badgers' games in sparring minutes off the bench. Overall, Winter finished the season averaging 2.4 points and 1.3 rebounds in 9.4 games as a true freshman.[4]

Sophomore season

Winter saw an increased role, starting in all 37 of the Badgers' games as the Power Forward next to Crowl. He recorded his first career double-double in the Badgers' 86–70 win over UCF in the semifinals of the Greenbrier Tip-Off, the first of three he would go on to record that season.[5] In a span of two games, Winter led the team in scoring twice, with 20 points in an 83–74 victory over Butler in the Indy Classic and with an 18-point, 11-rebound double-double in an 76–53 win over Detroit Mercy.[6][7] Winter finished the season averaging 9.4 points while leading the team 5.8 rebounds in 21.1 minutes per game. Additionally, Winter led the Big Ten in 2-point shooting percentage at 71.5%.[8]

Career statistics

Legend
  GP Games played   GS  Games started  MPG  Minutes per game
 FG%  Field goal percentage  3P%  3-point field goal percentage  FT%  Free throw percentage
 RPG  Rebounds per game  APG  Assists per game  SPG  Steals per game
 BPG  Blocks per game  PPG  Points per game  Bold  Career high

College

Year Team GP GS MPG FG% 3P% FT% RPG APG SPG BPG PPG
2023–24 Wisconsin 36 0 9.4 .423 .308 .696 1.8 0.3 0.2 0.0 2.4
2024–25 Wisconsin 37 37 21.1 .564 .358 .769 5.8 1.1 0.4 0.4 9.4
2025–26 Wisconsin 31 30 30.7 .569 .326 .742 8.5 1.5 0.5 1.2 13.1
Career 104 67 19.9 .549 .336 .747 5.2 1.0 0.4 0.5 8.1

Source:[9]

Personal life

Both of Winter's parents, Trevor and Heidi, played for the Minnesota Golden Gophers. His father played for the Golden Gophers for four seasons, most notably on the 1996-97 season that made the Final Four, and played just one game in the NBA for the Minnesota Timberwolves.[10][11] His mother played volleyball for the Golden Gophers.

References

  1. ^ "LAKEVILLE NORTH HIGH SCHOOL STUDENT-ATHLETE NAMED GATORADE MINNESOTA BOYS BASKETBALL PLAYER OF THE YEAR" (PDF) (Press release). Chicago: Gatorade Player of the Year. March 15, 2023.
  2. ^ "Nolan Winter Timeline Events". 247sports.com. Retrieved January 19, 2025.
  3. ^ "Badgers storm past Arkansas State in season opener". uwbadgers.com. Wisconsin Badgers. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
  4. ^ Fuller, Marcus (23 January 2024). "Nolan Winter on the rise for Badgers as he returns to Minnesota". startribune.com. Minnesota Star Tribune.
  5. ^ "Blackwell, Tonje lead No. 19 Wisconsin over UCF 86-70 in Greenbrier Tip-Off". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 November 2024.
  6. ^ "Nolan Winter scores a season-high 20 points to help No. 20 Wisconsin get past Butler 83-74". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  7. ^ "Winters' double-double leads Wisconsin to a 76-53 win over Detroit Mercy". apnews.com. Associated Press. Retrieved 22 December 2024.
  8. ^ Graff, Dillon (18 October 2025). "Nolan Winter ready to carry Wisconsin basketball's frontcourt tradition forward". badgernotes.com. Badgernotes.
  9. ^ "Nolan Winter Statistics". Sports Reference.
  10. ^ Jerry Zgoda (4 March 1997). "Gopher gets fond farewell". Star Tribune. pp. C1, C4. Retrieved 20 March 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  11. ^ "Man's Brief NBA Career Consisted of 5 Fouls in 5 Minutes". Asylum.com. AOL News. 5 February 2010. Archived from the original on 7 February 2010. Retrieved 20 March 2022.