Northwestern adds Bellarmine forward Jack Karasinski out of the transfer portal
Northwestern made its first addition in the transfer portal this cycle on April 14 when Bellarmine forward Jack Karasinski 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 replace 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.
Karasinski projects to address a core need from last season’s team: 3-point shooting.
Karasinski’s 41.5% mark from beyond the arc would have been the second-best on Northwestern’s 2025-26 team, trailing only Martinelli. His 41.5% rate on 5.7 attempts per game is similar to the stats of Boo Buie, Ryan Langborg and Ty Berry from the 2023-24 tournament team at Northwestern, and he has superior size to that trio at 6-foot-7 and 206 pounds.
Last season’s Northwestern team had no players other than Martinelli that averaged 20+ minutes per game and shot 40% or better on 3s. Freshman guard Jake West was the only player other than Martinelli to average 20+ minutes per game and shoot 35% or better from long distance.
Karasinski will have a steep defensive learning curve moving up to the Big Ten, but he projects to provide valuable perimeter scoring. He proved he could do it against top competition in non-conference last season.
Bellarmine struggled on the season with a 13-19 record, though that was an improvement from 5-26 the year before. Karasinski played well against Power Five competition, with 24 points against Kentucky, 23 against Georgia, 18 against Kansas State and 17 against Notre Dame, though all four games were losses.
