Wisconsin basketball star earns First-Team All-Big Ten honor

Wisconsin basketball’s latest top transfer addition officially etched himself into program lore on Tuesday.

Following a remarkable regular-season slate, Badgers wing John Tonje earned a unanimous spot on the 2024-25 All-Big Ten First Team. He becomes the 12th Badger since 2000 to pocket a first-team distinction.

Tonje accompanied Nebraska’s Brice Williams, Maryland’s Derik Queen, Michigan’s Vladislav Goldin and Purdue’s Trey Kauffman-Renn and Braden Smith on the top group. He, Williams, Smith and Kauffman-Renn earned the honor unanimously.

The North Omaha, Nebraska, native put together one of the most impressive seasons by any player in the country. In 31 starts this season, the 6-foot-5 playmaker averaged 18.9 points, 5.1 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 31 minutes per appearance. He did so off 46.0% shooting from the floor, 37.8% from outside and 91.6% from the charity stripe as his team’s undisputed offensive engine.

Outside of the statistical outputs, Tonje pocketed three Big Ten Player of the Week nods throughout the season, plus the 2024 Greenbrier Tip-Off Tournament MVP award. He scored at least 20 points on 12 occasions, including four games of at least 30.

Arguably Tonje’s most impressive game came against Arizona in mid-November, a team ranked No. 9 in the AP Poll at the time. He scored a season-best 41 points and poured in 21 free-throw attempts to lead Wisconsin to one of its best wins of the season.

Tonje remained UW’s most steady option for the remainder of the season, specifically propelling it to a November non-conference tournament victory at the Greenbrier Tip-Off and an impressive road win over Purdue on Feb. 15. Tonje’s emergence is arguably the primary factor for Wisconsin’s overachievement in a challenging 18-team Big Ten Conference.

Wisconsin will certainly require his brilliance when it plays the winner of Minnesota-Northwestern in the second round of the 2025 Big Ten Tournament on Thursday. He scored 27 points against the Wildcats on Feb. 1 and averaged 17 in two games against the Golden Gophers this season.