Zach Wolinski ’28 is a guard on the men’s basketball team from North Andover, Mass. Wolinski has taken a massive leap in the 2025–26 season, becoming key to the Cards’ recent success. After playing a supporting role in Wesleyan’s Final Four run last season, Wolinski has more than doubled his minutes to a team-leading 33.3 and now leads the Cardinals in scoring at 16.7 points per game, ranking fourth across the NESCAC.
In the Red and Black’s first two NESCAC contests this year (at Williams on Friday, Jan. 9 and Middlebury on Saturday, Jan. 10), Wolinski went off for a career-high 26 on 60% shooting against the Ephs and tacked on 22 in the Panthers’ gym the next day, leading the team to two decisive road victories (84–71, 86–62). For his performances, Wolinski earned the NESCAC Player of the Week award. The Argus recently sat down with Wolinski to discuss his award, his multi-sport background, and his evolving leadership.
The Argus: When did you first start playing basketball?
Zach Wolinski: I played basketball, football, baseball, and a couple of other sports growing up. But basketball is the one that I have been with the longest, dating back to second grade. I had an older brother who was three years older than me. He was also always playing basketball. So whenever I would go to his games, I would have a ball in my hand.
A: What made you fall in love with the sport above the rest?
ZW: I would honestly say right when I started. In high school, for those two to three months of football season, it would be football above everything else, but right when football would end, it was basketball, and then it was basketball in the spring and summer. Basketball just required a lot, because I knew I really wanted to continue playing. I had a really good coach throughout middle school, throughout high school, and just being able to play with them and play for them, with all my teammates and friends and stuff. I think that’s kind of what did it for me right away.
A: Is there anything you learned by playing football that has made you a better basketball player?
ZW: I would say the biggest thing was toughness and physicality. Especially playing in the NESCAC, one of the best D-III conferences in the country. These are some big, strong, physical athletes that we’re going against. So I think the biggest thing about football was being able to get up after you get knocked down. That’s just such a valuable asset to basketball, too, because like against Trinity last weekend, it’s just a physical battle. And you can kind of tell who the football players are, they have this physical grit, determination.
A: Did you model your game after anyone as a kid, or try to emulate an NBA player?
ZW: Isaiah Thomas, when he was on the Celtics. That was my favorite team. My brother and I love that team, a lot of good memories from that team. So I would say him because I was a guard, so I’m not always the tallest one out there. That mirrors him, and he just found a way to compete and win. I always admired those tough, physical guards. I just think that’s so important and I thought he did a really good job of that.
A: When did you start thinking about playing basketball in college?
ZW: Freshman year in high school, we had a good season, and I just said, “This is so much fun. I want to just keep doing this as long as I can.” So I started playing AAU, I really got on a good team. I had a really good coach that year and a good group of guys around me. And we traveled around New England and played in tournaments. My sophomore year was the biggest year of the introductory recruitment stage, where you would play club, and coaches would come and talk to you, and you would go to these camps and clinics and get all this exposure and everything. But I would say right away that freshman year was when I said, “I’m gonna reach for my goal.”
A: What drew you to Wesleyan as the right place for you?
ZW: I was at a Yale Elite Camp, and that’s where I met coach [Joe] Reilly, and right away I could tell he was an awesome guy. I was lucky because one of my high school assistant coaches played for Coach Reilly back when Coach Reilly was at Bates, and I talked to him, and he was like, “There is no other coach I would want you playing for.” I didn’t really know much about Wesleyan at all until he came up and talked to me, and then I started learning about the conferences. And there’s a lot of amazing conferences, but the NESCAC just really stuck out because of academics. So that’s definitely what sparked it as well. And then also I wanted to be close to home. I wanted my parents to be able to come to every game. I wanted to stay close to my community because they were really important to me.
A: Your first year, the team had an all-time year. What did you learn from that experience and dealing with that sort of national pressure?
ZW: That was an absolutely amazing experience. The biggest thing that I learned from that whole thing was how important it is to keep building on each day. What you did before that isn’t going to really influence the next day. We started the year pretty good. We were 4–0, we won the tournament that we hosted here, great. And then I think what we did really well was not rest on it and not get complacent. We just kept working as hard as we could. And that applies to basketball and in life, too. If things are going really well, that’s awesome, but you really have to keep working at it, because no one’s ever going to give anything to you. And we knew that. We had seniors that have experienced ups and downs throughout the program, and they were just the ones who really led us. That was our theme throughout the season: No matter where we are, we’re 0–0. We have a big week coming up. We have a huge target on our back, because everyone’s going to want to get a good shot at us. I also just learned how special a community we have: not only our team, but our fans, our parents, and our athletic department. Everybody is so special.
A: Going into this season, what were your personal goals and the team’s goals?
ZW: We knew it coming in that last year didn’t mean anything this year. They’re gonna give us a preseason ranking. We knew that we didn’t really need to pay attention to that. So we came, and we worked incredibly hard in the fall, and our seniors did an awesome job in the fall of being great leaders. And then this season has been really fun because we graduated five—we had two All-Americans on our team—and they were incredible and special. It’s a different team that we’re going to have this year than last year. We had a lot of roles to fill. And I thought this year, one of the coolest things was seeing how we built into that. We had a lot of guys step up, and everyone was ready to go.
A: In your first two NESCAC games this year, you put up 26 against Williams and 22 against Middlebury to help the team to two road wins and were awarded the NESCAC Player of the Week for your contribution. How did that feel to get that kind of recognition?
ZW: I’m absolutely honored to receive it. It’s an incredible conference that we’re able to play in. So to be recognized is amazing. But I think the most important thing is that it is absolutely a projection of our team. Going on the road and playing Williams on a Friday, and then going to Middlebury, those are two really good teams and two tough places to win a game. And I thought we just did an absolutely amazing job of staying hungry throughout practice, and then right when that tip-off went up, I’m like, we’re good, we feel confident, the work’s been put in, everybody’s ready to go. And that was a special weekend, because that really kick-started what we’re looking to do. We went 1–2 after Christmas break. We had a tough loss in Connecticut, and then we had a tough loss at Amherst, and we were able to just respond in a really good way. And as I said, we didn’t let last week or yesterday or anything impact our goal.
A: This year, you guys haven’t been quite as high on the national radar as last year. Then, on Saturday, you beat Trinity in an electric game that went down to the wire. How did it feel to get that win, and what does it say about executing the goals the team laid out?
ZW: It’s hard to say it was not a big game, because at the end of the day, it’s a rivalry. For us, the biggest thing that we did was understand it’s a NESCAC conference game, and it’s going to equal the same amount as every other NESCAC conference game that we play. We just need to take a deep breath and go out there and just execute and be physical, not let them push us around. We’re going to get knocked over, and they’re going to make good plays. There are many times when they would make a run, and the momentum would shift. And I thought we did an awesome job of staying together and not letting that affect anything. And I think this shows what we can be. It was a big program win. We did it for our alumni, we did it for the whole community. And now it’s time to turn the page, we have two NESCAC games that equal the same amount as the one we just played against two really good teams. And that’s what you get in the NESCAC: a game every weekend against a really good team.
A: Finally, if you could give a piece of advice to your first-year self, what would it be?
ZW: Enjoy every moment that you have. Freshman year is a big learning curve; it’s a jump from anywhere you were. It absolutely flew by, and this year is already flying by faster, and I’ve been told it only gets faster. So enjoy every moment that you have, enjoy the ups, enjoy the downs, enjoy everything that comes with it, because at the end of the day, it’s only going to get you better. There were a lot of times last year where it was easy to get down and to lose a little bit of hope and say it’s not the same as it was, and everything on the court, off the court, whatever it may be. But I would just say, enjoy that, because those moments have taught me so much. And then don’t take any of it for granted. At the end of the day, you’re at an incredible university, you’re playing the sport that you love, and many people would do absolutely anything to have the opportunity that you have, and you have something really special that you know. Stay positive and have a good attitude about anything that may come your way.
This article has been edited for length and clarity.
Ethan Lee can be reached at ejlee@wesleyan.edu.
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