Wisconsin basketball adds in-state guard from Mount Horeb to 2026 class
Wisconsin basketball signs Mount Horeb guard Josh Manchester, a top 10 scorer in state history, adding to its 2026 recruiting class.
The Wisconsin men’s basketball program has added another in-state talent to its roster for next season.
Mount Horeb standout guard Josh Manchester announced his commitment to the Wisconsin Badgers, giving Greg Gard and his staff a high-scoring backcourt piece to develop for the future as they continue to reshape the roster and build toward the next phase of the program.
“We’re excited to have Josh join our program,” Gard said. “As we continue to intentionally build out our roster, it’s vital to have players in a variety of roles. Josh appreciates and understands the work and development that his role will require. He’s got a competitor’s mindset paired with a knack for scoring, as witnessed by him being amongst the top 10 scorers in Wisconsin high school history. He comes from an excellently coached high school program and a basketball family.
“Josh is really fired up to be a Badger. We can’t wait for him to arrive on campus this summer and get to work preparing for the coming season. We’re looking forward to helping Josh launch his college career!”
Manchester, a 6-foot-3 combo guard, brings one of the most decorated scoring resumes in the state. He averaged 30.1 points per game as a senior, according to UW’s press release, and was a finalist for the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association’s Mr. Basketball award. In the process, Manchester finished with 2,534 career points, becoming the all-time leading scorer at Mount Horeb and the 10th-most in state history.
That kind of production doesn’t happen by accident.
Manchester has been on Wisconsin’s radar for multiple years, making visits to Madison and building familiarity with the program. He also competed on the Nike EYBL circuit with Team Herro, giving the staff another extended look at his game against high-level competition. But when the offer finally came, the fit was already there, and things moved quickly.
He chose Wisconsin over offers from programs such as East Tennessee State, Northern Illinois, Siena, and UW-Green Bay, as well as late interest from several high-major programs. For an in-state prospect who has long envisioned himself playing for the Badgers, the decision made sense.
And from Wisconsin’s perspective, it aligns with what this staff has been trying to do.
The Badgers are in the middle of rebuilding their roster, balancing retention, portal additions, and high school recruiting as they reshape the roster. Adding Manchester gives them a developmental guard that works hard, can shoot, and has a proven track record of carrying an offense.
He’ll join a 2026 class that already includes in-state forward LaTrevion Fenderson, a familiar name to Manchester from their time together on the AAU circuit. That continuity matters, especially as Wisconsin continues to emphasize fit and culture alongside talent. The Badgers have also added international backcourt pieces in New Zealand guard Jackson Ball and Australia’s Owen Foxwell, who, at 22 years old, is expected to arrive with a more experienced profile and likely won’t have four years of eligibility.
Beyond the high school and international additions, the roster is coming together, with a mix of returning players such as Nolan Winter, Austin Rapp, Jack Janicki, Hayden Jones, Zach Kinziger, and Will Garlock, as well as portal pickups Eian Elmer, Trey Autry, and Victory Onuetu.
Manchester adds another layer to that build.
He’s a volume scorer by nature, but there’s more to his game than just putting the ball in the basket. Manchester is a high-IQ guard with deep range from beyond the arc who can play on or off the ball, attack closeouts, and finish through contact when the opportunity is there. At the next level, the focus will shift to adding strength and refining his game as he adjusts to a different type of role and finds ways to make an impact.
But the foundation is there.
From a roster-building standpoint, this matters, too. Bringing in an in-state player who takes pride in representing where he’s from not only helps balance resources as programs manage the realities of today’s landscape, but also gives the staff a player they’ve evaluated closely and can develop over time. In a sport defined by constant turnover, those types of culture pieces tend to carry more value than they’re often given credit for.
For a coaching staff focused on building the right way and honoring the program’s history, while also operating within the realities of the current college basketball landscape, adding an in-state player with production, familiarity with Wisconsin, and shooting upside simply makes sense.
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