The 2026 WIAA Boys Basketball State Tournament is finally here. The year end showcase where four teams each in five divisions have earned their way to the Kohl Center for a chance at a gold ball.
The Division 1 playoffs will kick off with the evening session on Friday where the two semifinal games will be played, and the championship game will be the final game on Saturday night, putting a cap on the 2025-26 basketball season.
Below we’ll preview each team, their journey here, and then give a prediction at the bottom.
To see the full tournament field with game times, click here.
Division 1 State Tournament Schedule
Semifinals - Friday, March 20 - 6:35 p.m.
Game 1: #1 Wisconsin Lutheran (28-0) vs. #4 Appleton North (24-4)
Game 2: #2 De Pere (25-3) vs. #3 Madison Memorial (26-2)
Championship Final - Saturday, March 21 - (15 minutes following completion of Division 2 championship game)
The Teams
Record: 28-0
Bound Power Index Ranking: #1 in Division 1; #1 overall
Strength of Schedule Ranking: 32
Head Coach: Ryan Walz - 18th year at Wisconsin Lutheran, 370 career wins
Conference: 14-0, Woodland-West Conference Champion
Points Per Game: 74.6
Opponents Points Per Game: 44.2
Previous State Appearances: 7th trip this year: 2009, 2013, 2014, 2024, 2025
Previous State Championships: 4x State Champion: 2009, 2014, 2024, 2025
Playoff Path
Beat Kenosha Tremper 94-24 in Regional Semifinal
Beat Oak Creek 74-18 in Regiona Final
Beat Milwaukee Hamilton 56-29 in Sectional Semifinal
Beat Racine Case 74-46 in Sectional Final
Top Players
Zavier Zens, 6-7, sr (Northern Iowa commit)- 23.6 ppg, 5.4 rpg, 4.5 apg, 1.5 spg; shooting splits: 61/40/74
Kager Knueppel, 6-10, jr (multiple Division 1 scholarship offers)- 16.4 ppg, 7.2 rpg, 3.6 apg, 1.6 spg, 1.8 bpg; shooting splits: 68/42/91
Kinston Knueppel, 6-7, soph - 10.0 ppg, 4.8 rpg, 3.5 apg, 1.4 spg; shooting splits: 63/47/73
Riley Walz, 6-0, jr - 8.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg, 3.4 apg; shooting splits: 44/41/84
Jamal Sewell, 6-8, jr - 5.3 ppg, 4.8 rpg
Notes
Wisco has looked the part of a juggernaut this year, beating teams by 30-plus points per game with impressive in-state wins over Slinger, Germantown, Nicolet, Arrowhead, Brookfield Central, New Berlin West (x2). The Vikings have an abundance of size and length with four players over 6-7 in their starting rotation. Wisco can beat you in every facet and style of the game; transition, off-ball movement, dribble attack, half court man-to-man, or trap defense. The Vikings are undefeated, riding a 38-game win streak over the past two seasons, and looking to put together two undefeated championship runs in the past three seasons, as they are also looking to three-peat at the state tournament.
Record: 25-3
Bound Power Index Ranking: #4 in Division 1; #6 Overall
Strength of Schedule Ranking: 38
Head Coach: Brian Winchester - 19th year at De Pere, 382 career wins
Conference: 16-2; Fox River Classic Champion
Points Per Game: 76.8
Opponents Points Per Game: 59.2
Previous State Appearances: 8th trip this year: 1928, 1932, 1934, 1941, 1977, 2011, 2023
Previous State Championships: 2x state champion: 1934, 2023
Playoff Path
Beat Oconomowoc 99-62 in Regional Semifinal
Beat Menomonee Falls 85-56 in Regional Final
Beat Germantown 78-64 in Sectional Semifinal
Beat Brookfield East 97-74 in Sectional Final
Top Players
Will Krueger, 6-5, jr, FRCC Player of the Year - 17.1 ppg, 4.9 rpg; shooting splits: 56/48/82
Noah Maniscalco, 6-0, sr, 1st Team All-FRCC - 15.5 ppg, 5.1 rpg, 2.5 apg'; shooting splits: 51/41/84
Jack Bookter, 5-11, sr, 2nd Team/DEF All-FRCC - 14.4 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 3.2 apg; shooting splits: 63/38/80
Silas Cohen, 6-2, soph, HM All-FRCC - 9.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg, 3.5 apg; shooting splits: 50/35/79
Isaac Herlache, 6-1, sr, HM All-FRCC - 9.1 ppg, 2.0 rpg; shooting splits: 55/40/70
Notes
De Pere is looking to win its second state championship in four seasons. The seniors from this group were freshman when the Redbirds won gold in 2023, but have practiced with groups over the last few years that include John and Zack Kinziger, Roan Demovsky, and Will Hornseth. That experience has paid off this year as De Pere has been dominant, using a stellar defense to stifle opponents offensively and then sharing the ball on the offensive side where they shoot it efficiently due to the extra pass.
Record: 26-2
Bound Power Index Ranking: #2 in Division 1; #4 Overall
Strength of Schedule Ranking: 55
Head Coach: Steve Collins - 28th year at Madison Memorial, 518 career wins
Conference: 16-2; Big Eight co-champion
Points Per Game: 74.9
Opponents Points Per Game: 57.5
Previous State Appearances: 11th trip this year: 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2017
Previous State Championships: 3x State Champion: 2005, 2009, 2011
Playoff Path
Beat Westosha Central 57-31 in Regional Semifinal
Beat Badger 107-99 in 2OT in Regional Final
Beat Middleton 77-58 in Sectional Semifinal
Beat Verona 58-56 in Sectional Final
Top Players
Caleb Liggon, 6-5, sr, 2nd Team All-Big Eight (Bradley Baseball recruit)
Ezra Liggon, 6-5, sr, HM All-Big Eight (Bradley Baseball recruit)
Andrew Braun, 6-2, sr, 2nd Team All-Big Eight (Lawrence U Commit)
Lavonte Johnson, 6-4 frosh
Anthony Miller, 6-0, sr, 1st Team All-Big Eight
Notes
It’s been nearly a decade, but the Big Eight will be represented once again at the showcase of showcase in Madison as Memorial will head back to the Kohl Center, somewhere the Spartans were a mainstay in in the 2000s. Head coach Steve Collins won his 500th game this season and is one of the winningest active coaches in the state. The Spartans play a bit more up-tempo compared to the other three teams, but have also defended well these playoffs, playing and winning two games in the 50s. The senior group is experienced and tough as nails, which serves well come playoff time.
Record: 24-4
Bound Power Index Ranking: #3 in Division 1; #5 Overall
Strength of Schedule Ranking: 14
Head Coach: Christopher Kellett; 8th year at Appleton North, 153 career wins
Conference: 16-2, Fox Valley Association co-champion
Points Per Game: 68.6
Opponents Points Per Game: 51.9
Previous State Appearances: None
Previous State Championships: None
Playoff Path
Beat Hortonville 70-41 in Regional Semifinal
Beat Kimberly 73-54 in Regional Final
Beat Marshfield 63-45 in Sectional Semifinal
Beat Kaukauna 58-53 in Sectional Final
Top Players
Will Sweeney, 5-10, sr, 1st Team All-FVA - 12.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg, 2.1 apg; shooting splits: 42/49/81
Matthew Rosplochowski, 6-1, soph, 2nd Team All-FVA - 16.6 ppg, 3.2 rpg, 1.7 apg, 1.5 spg; shooting splits: 54/42/72
Nathan Ramus, 6-2, sr, 1st Team/DEF All-FVA (Northern Michigan recruit) - 11.7 ppg, 5.9 rpg, 4.9 apg, 2.0 spg, 1.0 bpg; shooting splits: 56/40/73
Granty Hardy, 6-4, sr, 1st Team All-FVA (Winona State recruit) - 14.2 ppg, 5.0 rpg, 3.6 apg; shooting splits: 53/48/84
Ben Zdzieblowski, 6-6, sr (Lakeland U recruit) 6.2 ppg, 2.5 rpg; shooting splits: 57/42/80
Notes
The Lightning won their first share of a conference title in FVA and now are heading to the state tournament for the first time in program history. Head coach Christopher Kellet surpassed 100 career wins this year and has a starting rotation where the four seniors are slated to play basketball at the next level while sophomore Rosplochowski is their leading scorer and likely to follow suit. North has wins over Kaukauna (x2), Marshfield, West Allis Central, Oshkosh North, and Homestead this year. The Lightning have defended at a high level these playoff games, allowing 54 or less points in each contest. It’s tough to guard a team where any of the first five can score 20-plus points on any given night.
Prediction
Semifinals:
Wisconsin Lutheran over Appleton North
De Pere over Madison Memorial
Championship:
Wisconsin Lutheran over De Pere
Colton Wilson serves a contributor and member of Bound Wisconsin. Wilson has worked in high school sports for 10 years, covering the state of Wisconsin in various sports. He has had roles in content creation, boys basketball coverage, director of events, and data management. Wilson is a graduate of Richland Center High School where he will currently serves as the Varsity Reserve boys basketball coach, entering his eleventh year coaching at the high school level. Wilson also has officiated basketball and organized youth tournaments for multiple years. You can follow him on Twitter at @ColtonWilson23 or reach him at [email protected].
