2026 Northwestern Basketball Transfer Tracker
The 2025-26 regular season wrapped up without an invitation to a postseason tournament for Northwestern for the second year in a row.
Now, head coach Chris Collins and his staff look to the transfer portal to rebuild the roster with the goal of returning to the NCAA Tournament.
WildcatReport will break down all of the players coming into or heading out of the Wildcat program in this cycle in our Transfer Tracker.
INCOMING TRANSFERS
Luke McEldon
Position: Forward/Center
Years of eligibility remaining: Two
Previous school: Santa Clara/Mount St. Maryās
Northwestern added a much-needed big man out of the transfer portal on April 15 when 6-foot-10 forwardĀ Luke McEldonĀ from Mount St. Maryās committed to the program.
McEldon started 29 games last season, averaging 11.7 points and 6.2 rebounds per game. He spent the previous two seasons at Santa Clara, where he played just 14 games before transferring.
McEldon provides valuable size for a Northwestern team that saw all three scholarship players at or above 6-foot-9 transfer out of the program.
A high-percentage scorer, McEldon led the MAAC last season with 64.5% field-goal shooting. His range, however, is limited: heās 0-for-4 in his college career on 3-pointers and is a career 43.2% free throw shooter.
Jack Karasinski
Position: Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Previous school: William & Mary/Bellarmine
Northwestern made its first addition in the transfer portal this cycle on April 14 when Bellarmine forwardĀ Jack KarasinskiĀ committed to the program.
Karasinski is a 6-foot-7 forward heading into his last year of eligibility after a stellar season where he averaged 21.7 points per game on 56.1% shooting from the floor and 41.5% on 3s. He was the only player in NCAA Division I to average more than 21 points per game with 55% or better from the floor and 40% or better from beyond the arc. His 21.7 points per game led the Atlantic Sun Conference in scoring.
The wing projects to provide a valuable scoring boost to a team looking to replaceĀ Nick Martinelli, who led the Big Ten in scoring the last two years.
Karasinski played for William & Mary in 2022-24, then transferred to Bellarmine for the past two seasons. He redshirted in 2023-24 when he played just nine games.
OUTGOING TRANSFERS
Max Green
Position: Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: Two
Destination: TBD
Max Greenās Northwestern career turned out to be a short one as the sophomore shooting guard announced his intention to enter the transfer portal on April 15.
Green transferred to Northwestern from Holy Cross in the last portal cycle and spent just one season in Evanston. His game, and in particular his shooting, did not translate well from the Patriot League to the Big Ten. His shooting percentage dipped from 38.0% to 33.8%, and he shot just 27.6% for the Wildcats this season outside of two November games against Cleveland State and South Carolina.
The writing was on the wall for this move when Green did not play at all over the Wildcatsā final 11 games of the 2025-26 season. He finished with averages of 4.3 points, 1.8 rebounds and 1.0 assists in just 14.7 minutes per game on the season.
Green is the ninth, and presumably last Wildcat to enter the portal.
Tyler Kropp
Position: Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: Three
Destination: TBD
Tyler Kropp had, by most accounts, a productive freshman season at Northwestern. He played in 31 games, starting 10 in the middle of the season. But after just one year in Evanston, he became the last of three Wildcats to enter the portal on April 6.
A 6-foot-9 forward, he played out of position for much of the year as the backup, and then, for a while, the starting center. He put up rather meager numbers: 11.8 minutes, 3.1 points and 2.1 rebounds per game, while learning in the unforgiving classroom of the paint in the Big Ten.
Kropp was a three-star prospect out of Powell (Ohio) Olentangy Liberty and played for Argentina last summer in the 2025 FIBA U19 World Cup. He chose the Wildcats over nine other schools, though NU was his only power conference offer.
Jayden Reid
Position: Point guard
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Destination: TBD
Point guard Jayden Reid had an up-and-down year for the Wildcats as a transfer from South Florida, and now he is on the way out after just one season in Evanston.
Reid came into the season as the starter but got demoted to No. 2 for six games in the middle of the season, when he saw his minutes dwindle. However, he surged late in the year, becoming a starter again in the backcourt along with emerging star Jake West.
The New York native wound up scoring 10.1 points per game, while leading the team in assists (5.0 per game) and steals (34). His quickness off the dribble and ability to penetrate were his strengths, but his 5-foot-10 height was often a defensive weakness if he didnāt get a steal.
Still, he scored 20 points three times and had eight or more assists seven times for Northwestern.
Jordan Clayton
Position: Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Destination: UMass
Northwestern guard Jordan Clayton raised some eyebrows when he decided to enter the portal on April 6. A three-year Wildcat, he famously burned his redshirt with just 10 games left in the 2024-25 season after Northwestern starting guards Brooks Barnhizer and Jalen Leach both suffered season-ending injuries.
A 6-foot-2 guard from Medford (Mass.) Bradford Christian Academy, Clayton averaged 3.9 points, 1.7 rebounds and 1.4 assists over his 18.2 minutes per game this season and was named a team captain. Those numbers were lower across the board that he averaged the year before.
But Clayton carved out a role for himself for the Wildcats, playing in 31 of 34 games and starting 10. He played a career-high 34 minutes against Rutgers and scored a personal-best 20 points against Maryland, when he hit six 3-pointers. He really found his long-distance shooting stroke down the stretch, hitting 15-of-24 (62%) of his 3s over the last eight games to give the Wildcats a boost off the bench.
A three-star prospect out of high school, Clayton chose Northwestern over 16 other offers, including Nebraska and Cal from power conferences.
Arrinten Page
Position: Center
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Destination: TBD
Arrinten Pageās Northwestern career lasted just one season. Pageās agent told DraftExpress on April 3 that the mercurial center would be heading to the transfer portal after just one year at Northwestern.
The 6-foot-11 Page, a four-star prospect out of high school, came to Northwestern after spending one season at Cincinnati and a freshman campaign at USC. He averaged 10.2 points, 4.5 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 29 games, with 16 starts, for Northwestern this season.
Page produced a couple resurgent performances late in the season in close wins over Indiana and Oregon, but he missed the last four games of the season due to illness. He leaves a mixed bag of results, displaying an NBA-level skill set one minute, and then disappearing at times.
Page will now head off to his fourth college program in four years.
Blake Smith
Position: Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: One
Destination: TBD
Blake Smith, a walkon who played a pivotal role on Northwestern 2023-24 NCAA Tournament team, entered the transfer portal on April 2 after redshirting this season.
Smith came out of nowhere to make two starts and appear in 11 games on the second of NUās back-to-back tournament teams, after starters Ty Berry and Matt Nicholson both went down with season-ending injuries. He had six points and five rebounds in his first career start at Maryland, and 11 points against Iowa in his second one. He then collected six rebounds and two steals in 12 minutes in the Wildcatsā NCAA Tournament first-round win over Florida Atlantic.
Smith played in 18 games, averaging 0.3 points in 3.2 minutes per game in 2024-25.Ā
Tre Singleton
Position: Forward
Years of eligibility remaining: Three
Destination: Iowa State
In what has to be considered a major blow to the Northwestern basketball program, freshman forwardĀ Tre SingletonĀ plans to enter the transfer portal, according toĀ On3ās Joe Tipton.
Singleton, a 6-foot-8, former four-star recruit, averaged 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game for the Wildcats this season. He started 31 of 34 games and averaged 25 minutes per contest as Northwestern finished a disappointing 15-19 overall and 5-15 in Big Ten, missing out on postseason play.
Singleton looked to be a player, along with fellow freshman point guardĀ Jake West, that Collins would build his program around in the coming years. Now, those plans are scuttled as the Wildcats will look to the transfer portal to replace him.
One of the highest-rated recruits of Collinsā tenure, Singleton was ranked as the 101st overall recruit in the nation out of Jeffersonville (Ind.). He chose Northwestern over offers from the likes of Purdue, Louisville, Notre Dame, Xavier and Clemson, among many others.
KJ Windham
Position: Guard
Years of eligibility remaining: Two
Destination: James Madison
In a decision that probably didnāt come as a surprise to Northwestern basketball fans, sophomore guardĀ KJ WindhamĀ entered the transfer portal on March 25.
The 6-foot-3 guard appeared in less than half of Northwesternās games during the 2025-26 season as he fell out of favor with Collins. The Indianapolis native has two years of eligibility remaining.
Windham played in 25 games and even started two as a freshman in 2024-25. He averaged 11.6 points per game over the last nine games that season and become a key player after injuries decimated the Northwestern backcourt.
But that hot stretch run didnāt carry over into his second season. He played in just 14 games for the Wildcats and averaged 3.5 points and 1.4 assists per game in just 12.4 minutes per game, the ninth-most on the team.
Cade Bennerman
Position: Center
Years of eligibility remaining: Four
Destination: TBD
Freshman center Cade Bennerman leaves the Northwestern basketball program without ever playing for the Wildcats.
The 7-foot center, who entered the portal on March 20, redshirted the 2025-26 season and didnāt log any minutes. He will have four years of eligibility remaining at his next destination.
Bennerman was a three-star recruit out of Nashville (Tenn.) Father Ryan who was seen as a project, so redshirting his freshman year didnāt come as a surprise. At just 205 pounds, he needed to add weight to compete at the Big Ten level.
Sources tell WildcatReport that this move was expected by the program. They will now have to get a big man out of the transfer portal to replace him.
