Wisconsin Women’s Basketball: What Can Laci Steele Offer the Badgers 2025 New-Look Team?

Steele was previously a four-star recruit in the 2023 class and had been considered a highly-touted addition for the Wolfpack. However, Steele has barely seen the court over the past two seasons, averaging just 9.7 minutes per game and 6.8 minutes per game this past season.

The talented guard has signed on with Wisconsin and aims to return to the former version of herself that once dominated opposing teams from beyond the arc.

Wisconsin Women’s Basketball Adds Laci Steele, Former Four-Star Shooting Guard

The Wisconsin women’s basketball program is currently in pieces after the resignation of coach Marisa Moseley, but the addition of Steele is a sign that the trend is upwards.

Steele, a former four-star guard, has had a tumultuous road throughout college that now potentially will end in Madison should everything go right. The guard dominated in high school, establishing herself as a three-point specialist and even competing in a national three-point contest before entering college. Steele can hurt teams in many ways, but beyond the arc is where the guard can truly unload the most damage.

Entering college, Steele struggled to find a spot in the lineup or on the bench with the Wolfpack during both of her seasons with the program. Steele initially was considered to be a bench guard that the team would go to or quick offense, but halfway through her freshman season the minutes began to dwindle. Steele was almost entirely out of the picture during this past season, which was mainly due to the shooting of Madison Hayes.

After another unproductive year, Steele hit the transfer portal in search of a home that could truly cater to her needs. Enter the Wisconsin women’s basketball program, and Steele has a new home that could utilize the guard in a great way.

With a lack of size, the Wisconsin basketball team is going to have to focus on different scoring avenues this upcoming season and deep-range shooting is at the top of the list. Steele is an extremely accomplished long-range shooter and could be the catalyst on offense that Wisconsin needs.

The Penn State Lady Lions were in the same position Wisconsin is currently in just a year ago with reduced size and the team shot 34.7% from deep last season.