MADISON – When Wisconsin Badgers fans talk about putting a fence around the state to keep home the state’s top prospects, it’s players like Adaline Sheplee they’re thinking about.
The 6-foot-3 guard/forward from Rice Lake is a consensus top-50 recruit who is an ideal fit in this era of positionless basketball.
UW women’s basketball coach Robin Pingeton explained on signing day.
“She’s got a really unique and special skill set with her ability to play so many different positions,” she said. “Certainly can play faced up, with her back to the basket, can score on three levels. Also she is a great defender and rebounder, so she’s going to come in and make an immediate impact. We feel really blessed that she’s going to be a Badger.”
The Journal Sentinel checked in with the Badgers’ prize recruit recently.
Here are four takeaways from the conversation.
Sheplee almost closed the door on Wisconsin’s recruitment
It turns out that the Badgers just beat the buzzer on recruiting Sheplee.
By the time Pingeton was hired at the end of March 2025, Sheplee was far along in her recruitment and Wisconsin wasn’t near the top of her list. She was so close to making a decision that she was hesitant to take a call from the coach.
She did, and as has been proven with other recruits, Pingeton made a strong first impression.
“Once I got that first call from Coach P, she laid out her values right away, and those are faith, family, and career,” Sheplee said. “And those perfectly aligned with mine and so then I knew I had to look into it more.”
Sheplee took an official and unofficial visit to Wisconsin during the summer. She saw and heard about the off-the-court work the team was doing to build culture and liked what she heard about plans to help her develop her game.
Still, it took some blind faith to give the Badgers a commitment in September. Though Sheplee saw video of Missouri running Pingeton’s system, she had not seen it run at Wisconsin.
Since then she attended the Minnesota and Oregon games and has watched broadcasts of the others.
“You know, it’s kind of a risky decision because I hadn’t seen them play before committing,” she said.
“I love to see how fast they like to play, and they shoot really, really well,” Sheplee said. “That’s been nice to see. I think one thing that I’ll be able to bring is just the ability to drive, so I’m excited to contribute that way. But obviously they’re just also super gritty this year.”
Sheplee’s commitment Wisconsin surprised some coaches
Before announcing her commitment, Sheplee told the other programs she was seriously considering that her recruitment was complete. These are programs that aren’t used to losing recruiting battles to Wisconsin.
“I didn’t surprise some of the coaches,” she said. “It just came down to it was the right fit for me. It’s a great opportunity for me and those coaches that were really understanding that and excited for me showed it and then other ones, some of them showed their shock. And so just in those moments you’re like, ‘OK, I know I made the right decision for sure. I know what I’m going to do that’s best for me.’”
Adaline Sheplee’s athletic roots run deep
Sheplee may be the best player in the state, but in some ways she is still Eliana’s little sister. The impact of having an older sister who was a Division I-caliber player can’t be underestimated.
“It was just helpful in every aspect,” Sheplee said. “Growing up we always played the same sports. We always had that competitive edge with each other. She was obviously older, stronger, faster and so my goal was just always to keep up with her.”
Elaina, who is two years older, started her college career at Northern Iowa. After taking a medical redshirt last season as a freshman, she transferred to Division II Embry Riddle in Florida, where she leads the team in scoring (20.8 ppg), rebounds (7.1 rpg) and steals (2.1 spg).
Sheplee said watching her sister’s recruitment and transfer affected how she approaced her own recruitment.
“Yeah, I think she loved the coaches during the recruiting process and spent a lot of time getting to know them and loved who they were, but then when she got to the school, it wasn’t the playing style that fit her,” Sheplee said. “She didn’t spend as much time, I think, as she wished, on the basketball side of things rather than on the personal side of things”
Sheplee’s tie with her sister is one of a few that she has athletically. Her father played basketball at North Dakota. Her mother was a volleyball player at Northwestern Bible College in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Coincidentally Sheplee is trained during the summer by former college coach Stephanie Glance, who lives next door the Sheplees during the summer. Glance succeeded Pingeton at Illinois State in 2010.
“We were working outside on our basketball hoop, and she would peek her head over,” Sheplee said. “We were just young at the time, but now she’s our trainer and mentor as well.
“She’s probably had the biggest influence throughout both me and my sister’s recruiting process and just our basketball development overall.”
Sheplee is on a mission to get back to WIAA state tournament
Last year Sheplee led Rice Lake to the WIAA Division 2 final where it lost to Madison Edgewood. This year the Warriors earned a share of their first Big Rivers Conference title and are 23-3 heading into their sectional semifinal matchup vs. La Crosse Central at 7 p.m. March 5 at Chippewa Falls High School.
Sheplee is averaging about 28 ½ points, nine rebounds and four assists per game. She and UW-Green Bay recruit Addison Schmidt, a 6-2 forward, are giving Rice Lake a strong 1-2 punch for a team that is deeper than last season’s.
“I think we’re just a lot more dynamic than we have been” Sheplee said. “You have to guard all of us instead of just two of us, so that’s been really, really big this year.”
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Catching up with Wisconsin women’s basketball recruit Adaline Sheplee
Reporting by Mark Stewart, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
