Wisconsin Badgers basketball may have found their own Luka Doncic as Jackson Ball, who made a commitment to the team for 2026, turned heads with his all around play in his first game for 2025 in the pro-league.
Ball, who turned 17 on March 10, scored 40 point for the Hawke’s Bay Hawks against the Indian Panthers on the first week of the New Zealand Basketball League 2025 season. His total points was on the back of an efficient ten out of 12 shooting from 2-point line and five out of seven from beyond the arc. He also had nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.
#Badgers commit Jackson Ball had 40 points yesterday. pic.twitter.com/W9EhLD8bpU
— Evan Flood (@Evan_Flood) March 12, 2025
🇳🇿 Hawkes Bay Hawks’ Jackson Ball had an incredible game against Indian Panthers in the NZNBL. He committed to the Wisconsin Badgers last week.
Stats: 34 MIN | 40 PTS | 10/12 2PT | 5/7 3PT | 5/6 FT | 9 REB | 4 AST | 2 STL | 2 TO
2008-born 6’4″ guard showed his great scoring… pic.twitter.com/8FSSRV4bNW
— Can Peker Pekcan (@canpekerpekcan) March 12, 2025
Excitement by fans upon Ball’s announcement that he will join the Badgers did not go to waste after this performance. He showed that he can hang out with the big boys.
“I am grateful and excited to announce my commitment to the University of Wisconsin!,” he wrote on his personal Instagram account on March 4.
“Huge thanks to Coach Gard and the rest of the Wisconsin coaching team for this opportunity. I can’t wait to put on the Wisconsin singlet.”
How did he connect with Wisconsin Badgers?
Such talent going to Badgers? Don’t be surprised as Ball is very much connected to the team via their former players and coaches.
Credited for bringing him to UW is Kirk Penney who played for Wisconsin from 1999 to 2003. He rejoined the team 20 years after as a special assistant to the head coach Greg Gard.
Talking about his recruitment strategy and Ball, Penney said he looked for someone like Ball who will fit in to the team’s dynamic offensive game plans.
“You’re trying to bring in players who fit the system, who can space the floor, drive, and shoot,” he said in an interview with Badgers Notes.
“We’re building this offense around spacing and making sure we’ve got the right pieces to execute.”
Aside from Penney, he was also teammates with 2025 Badgers signee Hayden Jones for the New Zealand U-17 team in the FIBA World Cup.
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