Zak Showalter stepped into the starting lineup in 2015-16 and played a valuable role in UW's Sweet 16 season. Now a fifth-year senior, the relentless and athletic shooting guard brings a defensive mentality with an ability to get to the rim and knock down shots. Showalter averaged 7.5 ppg and 3.8 rpg last season while ranking third on the team with 76 assists, 36 steals and drew a team-high 16 charges. A former walk-on who has since earned a scholarship, "Showy" made just four 3-pointers in his first two seasons, but knocked down 35 percent (37-107) from long range as a junior. Showalter won the Wisconsin state championship as a prep at Germantown, playing for his father, Steve, who also played for Bo Ryan while at UW-Platteville.
HONORS
• 2017 Big Ten All-Defensive Team
• 2x Academic All-Big Ten (2016, '17)
CAREER
• Played in 129 career games, including 35 on UW's 2014-15 team that made the program's first national championship game since 1941
• Started 72 straight games, including all 35 in 2016-17
• Former walk-on became a starter in 2015-16
2016-17
The 2017 Big Ten All-Defensive Team honoree started all 37 games ... averaged 8.3 points, 2.9 rebounds, 1.8 assists, 50% FG shooting and 29.5 minutes per game ... during Big Ten play, Showalter shot 51.9% from the field and finished 2nd on the team shooting 41.7% 3FG ... finished his career with 23 double-digit scoring games, recording 13 during the 2016-17 season alone ... scored 15 points (11 in the first half alone) at Michigan State (2/26), adding 3 steals and 1 rebound ... second-leading scorer for UW with 15 points (4-6 3FG) at Nebraska (2/9) to go along with 6 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 assist ... recorded 6 points, a season-high 5 rebounds, 3 assists and 1 block vs. Michigan (1/17) ... one of four Badgers to reach double-digit scoring at #25 Indiana (1/3), finishing with 14 points, 2 steals and 1 assist
2015-16
Started in all 35 games ... averaged 31.4 minutes per game and posted an average of 7.5 points, 3.8 rebounds and a team-high 80.4 percent shooting at the free throw line ... went 37-for-107 (.346) from 3-point range after hitting just 4-for-24 (.167) from deep in his first two seasons ... long known for his hustle plays, Showalter drew a team-high 16 charge calls during the season ... provided a huge spark for the Badgers against Notre Dame in the Sweet 16 (3/25) and finished with 11 points, five rebounds, three assists and one steal ... in the second round of the NCAA tournament against Xavier (3/20), Showalter had four points, three rebounds, two assists, one steal and drew a key charge call in the final seconds that set up UW's game-winning shot at the buzzer ... literally could not miss against Rutgers (1/2) and scored a career-high 21 points on perfect 8-for-8 FG shooting, which included a career-high four 3-pointers (4-4 3FG), plus he was 1-for-1 at the free throw line ... scored 14 points vs. Prairie View A&M (11/25) ... tallied the first double-double of his career with 10 points and 10 rebounds against Marquette (12/12), while also chipping in two assists and one steal
2014-15
Played in 35 games ... seeing an average of 7.6 minutes per game off the bench, while averaging 2.1 points and 1.3 rebounds per game ... served as a catalyst in the NCAA tournament, tallying 5 points, 5 rebounds and 2 assists in 15 minutes vs. Oregon (3/22) before posting 6 points in 8 minutes vs. UNC (3/26) ... scored a career-high 9 points (3-4 FG), while adding 2 assists and 2 steals in 14 minutes vs. Indiana (2/3) ... played a season-high 18 minutes vs. Iowa, adding 5 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 steal in UW’s win (1/20) ... contributed 10 key minutes at Michigan when UW ran into foul trouble, finishing with 3 rebounds and 1 assist (1/24) ... tied a season-high seven points and also had two steals vs. UAB (11/26) ... scored a season-high seven points on 3-for-5 shooting vs. Chattanooga (11/16)
2013-14
Redshirt season
2012-13
Played in 22 games ... season averages of 1.7 points and 1.0 rebounds per game ... posted career highs in minutes (23), points (8), rebounds (4) and assists (3) vs. Green Bay ... scored seven points and added three rebounds against Nebraska-Omaha ... scored five points and grabbed three rebounds in Badgers debut against Southeastern Louisiana
High School
Earned Wisconsin Basketball Coaches' Association and AP first-team all-state honors during his senior season after averaging 22 points, 5.5 assists and four rebounds ... led Germantown (Wis.) to a perfect 28-0 record and WIAA Division I state championship ... Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Player of the Year, North Shore Conference Player of the Year and a WBCA All-Star game participant ... finished high school career as Germantown's all-time leading scorer ... unanimous first-team all-state selection by both the Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association and the AP as a junior after averaging 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4.5 assists per game and leading Germantown to a 24-2 record
Personal
Born in Germantown, Wis. ... parents are Steve and Jill ... father Steve, served as his high school coach at Germantown and also played for Bo Ryan at UW-Platteville from 1985-89, leading the team in scoring during his junior and senior years and finishing with 1,399 career points ... studied abroad in Greece and Italy for three weeks during the summer of 2016 ... majoring in business finance and accounting
