Don’t be the person that’s constantly asking “who’s that?” during a Wisconsin athletic event.
Here are five names you should know before stepping foot on campus this semester.
Corey Clement (football)
It’s Clement’s backfield now.
After playing third-string his freshman season and backing up Heisman Trophy candidate Melvin Gordon in 2014, the junior running back now tops the depth chart heading into the 2015-16 season.
Clement has already shown significant promise in the limited chances he’s received his first two seasons for the Badgers.
He rushed for 547 yards as the third-stringer his freshman year and 949 yards backing up Gordon last season, averaging 7.0 yards per carry on his career.
Badgers football: Clement uses spring to adjust to starting role, new coaching staff
He’s not the next Melvin Gordon, it’s likely nobody ever will be, but Wisconsin fans have reason to believe there won’t be a severe drop off in production from the running back position if Clement uses the successes of his first two seasons as a stepping stone for this one.
Joe Schobert (football)
Playing opposite the outgoing Vince Biegel, Schobert can at times go unnoticed, especially last season as part of a stacked linebackers core on the Wisconsin football defense.
But the graduations of Derek Landisch and Marcus Trotter have left the middle linebacker positions open and has shifted the spotlight to the outside linebackers Biegel and Schobert.
Schobert acts as the silent assassin, but he was anything but silent on the stat sheet last season and opposing offenses could certainly hear him coming off the edge snap after snap.
He racked up 44 solo tackles and had 13.5 tackles for loss (third on the team), along with two forced fumbles and three sacks.
The senior has worked his way up from Scout Team Defensive Player of the Year to a consensus all-Big Ten honorable mention last season.
And for the Badgers, who finished with the fourth-ranked defense last season, Schobert will once again have to elevate his game and establish himself as one of the leaders of the defense.
Lauren Carlini (volleyball)
Jason Chan/The Badger Herald
Ever since Carlini set foot on campus in the summer of 2013, she’s had a profound impact on the Wisconsin volleyball program. Since then, the Badgers have advanced to the national title game her freshman season and the Elite Eight last season.
Carlini was named Big Ten Player of the Year and Setter of the Year as a sophomore, the first second-year player to earn those honors.
The 6-foot-1 setter averaged 11.23 assists per set last season, while stepping up on defense by averaging 3.03 digs per set — second-best on the team.
The Badgers graduated six seniors last season, which forces Carlini to produce even more this upcoming season if she wants her team to reach the same level of success it did her first pair of seasons as a Badger.
After a superb freshman campaign and taking her play to a higher level last season, it will be fascinating to see if she can expand even further this year.
Drew Conner (men’s soccer)
On a team filled with freshmen last season, then-junior Drew Conner served as a team captain for the men’s soccer team to help mentor and ease the adjustment for the younger players.
Now, as a senior and a year of captainship under his belt and a more experienced squad, Conner will look to lead the Badgers to an improved campaign from 2014, which saw the Badgers go 3-12-3 and winless in conference play.
Conner, a midfielder from Cary, Illinois, will also be vying for a chance to continue his playing career and move on to the professional level. He finished last season as the 73rd-ranked player in college soccer, according to Top Drawer Soccer.
Leadership one of Conner’s strongest traits for men’s soccer team
Conner started 17 games for Wisconsin last season, scoring two goals and tallying an assist. He also played the most minutes on the team.
For the Badgers to get back to the NCAA Tournament, which they did in 2013 for the first time in 18 years, Conner will have to play a big role both on and off the field.
Rose Lavelle (women’s soccer)
At 5-foot-4, Lavelle is one of the smaller players on the pitch, but don’t let that fool you – she has more skill than almost any one of her competitors.
The 2013 Big Ten Freshman of the Year, two-time all-Big Ten and 2014 NSCA first-team All-American is a spark in the midfield for the reigning Big Ten Tournament champion women’s soccer team.
Her goals scored dropped from six to two between her freshman and sophomore season, but both of her goals in 2014 were game winners.
With Cara Wall, the team’s leading scorer last season, graduating, the team will need Lavelle to up her scoring and assisting from the midfield if they want a chance to repeat as Big Ten champions.
The expectations won’t faze Lavelle, she’s succeeded not only as a Badger but on the game’s international stage as well. She won the Golden Ball (given to the tournament’s best player) at the 2014 CONCACAF Women’s Under-20 Championship and was named a finalist for the 2014 U.S. Soccer Young Female Athlete of Year.
