Wisconsin coach Greg Gard named to Naismith Midseason Coach of the Year Watch List
Wisconsin basketball coach Greg Gard earned a spot on the 2025 Naismith Men’s College Coach of the Year Watch List on Friday.
The two-time Big Ten Coach of the Year was listed among 15 distinguished finalists for the annual honor. Gard joined Dennis Gates (Missouri), Todd Golden (Florida), Penny Hardaway (Memphis), Tom Izzo (Michigan State), Pat Kelsey (Louisville), Dusty May (Michigan), Grant McCasland (Texas Tech), Ben McCollum (Drake), Matt Painter (Purdue), Bruce Pearl (Auburn), Rick Pitino (St. John’s), Richard Pitino (New Mexico), Kelvin Sampson (Houston) and Jon Scheyer (Duke) on the stacked list.
Gard’s nomination arrives in the midst of one of the more impressive seasons during his tenure in Madison. The Badgers currently sit at 21-5 overall and 11-4 in conference play, with signature wins over top-10 squads Arizona and Purdue.
The success has vaulted Wisconsin up to No. 11 in the AP Top 25 poll, No. 11 in the NCAA NET ranking and No. 7 in KenPom’s latest update. The team has scored at least 80 points in 15 games this season, Wisconsin’s most in a single season since 1970-71. Its four games of at least 90 points are also the most by any Badger team since 2016-17.
Given where Wisconsin was positioned in preseason hierarchies across the country, the team’s 2024-25 output is nothing short of remarkable. UW sits behind only Michigan and Michigan State in the race for the Big Ten regular season title.
While most professional ensembles acquiesce to star players, college programs embody the identity of their head coach. Since Gard assumed head coaching responsibilities in 2015, the Badgers have done exactly that. Wisconsin has pocketed Big Ten regular season titles in 2020 and 2022, plus has reached the NCAA Tournament seven times since he began coaching.
UW will now look to extend its current win streak when the Oregon Ducks visit the Kohl Center on Saturday afternoon.
