UW's focus on growing its international recruiting leads our women's basketball update

MADISON – With the addition of Ana Guillen, the Wisconsin women’s basketball program signed its first international player in three years.

Don’t be surprised if more are on the way.

Badgers coach Marisa Moseley hopes to recruit more international players. Newly hired assistant coach Margaret McKeon should help in that regard. When McKeon was head coach at New Jersey Institute of Technology (2007-12), her teams had a strong international presence.

“Margaret has a really deep track record with international recruiting and some really good relationships,” Moseley said. “That is something we’ve talked about continuing to lean into.”

While McKeon will have a key role in the Badgers' future efforts to pursue international players, the seeds of the program’s fifth commitment for the 2023 class were planted before her arrival.

This spring, Moseley checked in with a contact she has in Spain about players for the 2024 class and learned about Guillen, a 6-foot small forward for 2023 from Badalona. With four players already signed for 2023, UW didn’t initially look closely at Guillen, but ultimately decided she could provide the team more depth for the upcoming season.

Guillen comes to Wisconsin with experience playing for her national team at the 2021 FIBA U16 women’s European Challengers and, due to the structure of the game in her country, has regularly played against older players.

“She’s a really great shooter,” Moseley said. “Her versatility allows her to be inside and outside. She moves very well without the ball and she has a knack for going to rebound.”

Guillen will be the first player in program history from Spain and the first international player signed by UW since Lovisa Djurstrom joined the program in 2020. She spent one season with the Badgers.

The last international signee prior to Djurstrom was Julie Pospisilova. The Czech Republic native, who completed her eligibility this past season, was an all-Big Ten honorable-mention selection in 2022 and ’23 and the program’s first international player to score 1,000 points.

And while rising sophomore Serah Williams, the Badgers' first all-Big Ten freshman selection in 15 years, doesn’t count as an international player, the native of Brooklyn, New York, did play high school ball in Ontario, Canada.

The addition of Guillen pushes Wisconsin’s roster to 14 players. Twelve of the 15 scholarship slots for the upcoming season have been filled.

With five freshmen plus six sophomore-eligible players, the Badgers will remain one of the youngest teams in the Big Ten.

“With our staff and with these players who are returning and the incoming players I’m just really excited for the season," Moseley said. "I think there is a hunger and a great energy around what we’re trying to accomplish this year. I’m fired up.”

Halle Douglass' recovery is on schedule

One of the biggest losses the Badgers suffered last season came in the fifth game when Halle Douglass suffered a season-ending knee injury.

The good news this spring is that the recovery of the 6-1 senior, who was a co-captain last season, is going as scheduled. This spring she was able to do ball-handling drills, stationary shooting and work on the Alter G treadmill, which allows her to run without putting the force of her weight on her knee.

“I’m excited for her ... It was awesome to see her feel like some of her old self was coming back,” Moseley said.

Tessa Towers has returned to the Badgers

Sophomore Tessa Towers has resumed her basketball career with the Badgers. The 6-5 center played in three games before taking a leave of absence from the team in December to focus on a personal matter. She missed the remainder of the season and rejoined the team in the spring.

More players could be added

The Badgers roster isn’t set yet. The coaching staff has been quietly pursuing players in the transfer portal.

The team’s most glaring need is for an experienced guard/ball-handler that could ease the losses of Pospisilova and Avery LaBarbera, who completed their eligibility, and Maty Wilke, who transferred to Utah. Those three players each averaged more than 30 minutes per game and accounted for 53% (36.2 ppg) of the team’s 68.5 points per game last season.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: International recruiting, 3 more Wisconsin women's basketball updates