Northwestern basketball signs all five 2025 commits

[mshelton33]

Northwestern basketball signs all five 2025 commits

Northwestern basketball locked up all five members of its Class of 2025 on the first day of the early signing window.

northwestern.rivals.com

Northwestern secured its Class of 2025 as all five commits signed their athletic aid agreements this morning. Here's WildcatReport's breakdown of each player and the class overall.

 

[freewillie07]

BOOM! Nice work CCC and staff.

 

[Hungry Jack]

Helluva class.

 

[hdhntr1]

Northwestern basketball signs all five 2025 commits

Northwestern basketball locked up all five members of its Class of 2025 on the first day of the early signing window.

northwestern.rivals.com

Northwestern secured its Class of 2025 as all five commits signed their athletic aid agreements this morning. Here's WildcatReport's breakdown of each player and the class overall.

So no drama.

 

[ETown Jim]

Pretty sure that Gill is the first recruit from St. Ignatius since Art Aaron.

Gaddis Rathel who was a year ahead of Art was also from St. Ignatius.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Nice rundown, Not-so-big-Matt.
To think that all of these recruits still have a full season to play and develop their skills and almost a year to mature physically.
And they all (apparently) got thru admissions!
Bennerman at 6'11" (with vertical hops and a 7'5" wingspan) is interesting. He may get taller...

Whats most noticeable to me is that Collins recruited a center, two big forwards and two guards.
Thats an entire lineup.

The only downside to having a great recruiting class of 5 is that it limits the ability to add one of the late bloomers who nobody cares about until they explode as high school seniors. I suppose thats a problem worth having.

 

[EagerFan]

Seems like Bennerman may have the biggest challenge as we won’t have a strong starting center to coach him into the role. I assume Collins will pick up
Another GS center from the portal, but it would be nice to have a year of Matt overlap.

It is an entire lineup tho, and that’s a solid move.

 

[NUera]

To think that all of these recruits are high school juniors and still have a full season to grow and develop their skills..

Aren’t they seniors playing their last season and graduating as part of the Class of 2025?

 

[macarthur31]

I dug into kenpom and identified the times where Collins brought in classes of 4+ newcomers (Frosh/transfer)

Year	Frosh	Sophs	Juniors/Seniors (in BOLD)
2015	McIntosh Law Lindsey Skelly Vassar	Taphorn Lumpkin	Olah Demps Cobb Sobolewski Kriesberg (grad transfer)
2020	Buie Young Beran J. Jones (Audige)	Kopp Nance Greer	Gaines AJ Turner Spencer (grad transfer)
2022	Roper Simmons Barnhizer	Nicholson Berry	Buie Audige Young Beran Nance Greer Williams (grad transfer)
2026 (projected)	Bannerman Gill Kropp Singleton West	Windham Ciaravino Barkley Clayton	Hunger Martinelli Mullins Smith

I hold the mental model - "get old, stay old." Granted, I'm old, so I'm still getting used to how the portal affects that adage; but what that meant to me is that you wanted to avoid the situations where you're bringing in and/or ultimately graduating huge classes. Its' one thing if you're Calipari golden era Kentucky and you're churning one-and-dones, but for a developmental program like NU that means volatility, which is rarely good.

During Collins' tenure, this has only happened three times (and will happen a 4th time next season). I set the table up in this way because I was curious not just about who was incoming, but also what they were coming into - i.e. who were the upper classmen who are charged with holding the culture and offering that key peer leadership.

Obviously 2015 was going to be a huge class given that was Collins' first one and he was building the program. Goes without saying that BMac, Vic and Scottie were the "Big 3" of that First Dance team, though Taphorn and Lumpkin would play key bench roles, so it speaks highly of Collins ability to retain them (and of course, their willingness to "buy-in").

2020 marked the second cycle for Collins - and going in, it may be perceived that Pete Nance and Miller Kopp were the most influential players via their talent, all the newcomers save Jared Jones (and transfer redshirt Chase Audige), would be called on for minutes and contributions. That was a rough year in the B1G with a 12 game losing streak that would end in a 3-17 B1G campaign. Nevertheless, these hard knocks were a downpayment on a return ticket to the tourney. However, I didn't foresee that return without Kopp, Nance and Young.

2022 had 4 newcomers, but they weren't called upon to play big roles (none of them had greater than 50 %Min) as this team was driven by its juniors and seniors. However, Roper and Simmons injected some juice off the bench, but neither would stick around to be part of the '23 breakthrough. However, Nicholson, Barnhizer, Berry remain as the standard bearers.

2026 - not to look too far ahead, but this will be fascinating new chapter for the program. Ciaravino and Windham have shown that age ain't nothin' but a number with regards to getting playing time. (Simultaneously, its perhaps an indictment of the '24 class of Strauss, Barkley, Clayton which early returns aren't as promising.) I'm projecting that Martinelli and Mullins will serve as team captains. Despite a dream start to his season, Martinelli's press conference rhetoric suggests he will stay ever grounded and keeping the chip-on-his-shoulder. Additionally, Mullins continues to be a super glue guy that earns post-game praise from Collins for his relentless motor. Hard pressed to find two better guys to set the culture for this incoming class that may have the most diverse collective skill-set in the Collins era.

 

[PURPLECAT88]

The only downside to having a great recruiting class of 5 is that it limits the ability to add one of the late bloomers who nobody cares about until they explode as high school seniors.

Not necessarily. Barring catastrophe and a redshirt this year from Barnhiser, we'll still have one available slot for a late-bloomer. And the likelihood of at least one transfer out (there's always one) means there will probably be two slots.

 

[hdhntr1]

Seems like Bennerman may have the biggest challenge as we won’t have a strong starting center to coach him into the role. I assume Collins will pick up
Another GS center from the portal, but it would be nice to have a year of Matt overlap.

It is an entire lineup tho, and that’s a solid move.

Well, he would have a year of hunger wouldn't he?

 

[hdhntr1]

Nice rundown, Not-so-big-Matt.
To think that all of these recruits are high school juniors and still have a full season to grow and develop their skills.
And they all (apparently) got thru admissions!
Bennerman at 6'11" (with vertical hops and a 7'5" wingspan) is interesting. He may get taller...

Whats most noticeable to me is that Collins recruited a center, two big forwards and two guards.
Thats an entire lineup.

The only downside to having a great recruiting class of 5 is that it limits the ability to add one of the late bloomers who nobody cares about until they explode as high school seniors. I suppose thats a problem worth having.

There is often a guy that will move on if he is not getting the opportunities he would like or injuries. And aren't they going to 15 rather than 13? I don't see it as a problem at this point. And better than having open scholarships that we are not able to use

 

[SmellyCat]

There is often a guy that will move on if he is not getting the opportunities he would like or injuries. And aren't they going to 15 rather than 13? I don't see it as a problem at this point. And better than having open scholarships that we are not able to use

I have to think there is about a 100% chance someone will leave after this season. Obviously Barnhizer/Berry/Nicholson will go, but with five people coming in, there are going to be too many mouths to feed. There is at least one obvious person that many have speculated on, and as long as the transfers out aren't guys we're counting on (the big boys will come for Martinelli, you can count on that), we should be ok.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

Aren’t they seniors playing their last season and graduating as part of the Class of 2025?

Yeah I botched that a little. High school basketball season starting soon in my area. I'll re-word it.

 

[PurpleWhiteBoy]

I will freely admit that I don;t know what the restrictions are regarding high school recruiting.
Is a class size limited to 5 high schoolers? Or is it only controlled by the number of available scholarships one year out?

 

[NJCat]

I have to think there is about a 100% chance someone will leave after this season. Obviously Barnhizer/Berry/Nicholson will go, but with five people coming in, there are going to be too many mouths to feed. There is at least one obvious person that many have speculated on, and as long as the transfers out aren't guys we're counting on (the big boys will come for Martinelli, you can count on that), we should be ok.

I see two players on the current roster that might have better opportunities elsewhere......

 

[IGNORE2]

Seems like Bennerman may have the biggest challenge as we won’t have a strong starting center to coach him into the role. I assume Collins will pick up
Another GS center from the portal, but it would be nice to have a year of Matt overlap.

It is an entire lineup tho, and that’s a solid move.

I liked Mart two years ago and Barney before that. I’m on the hungar train. I think he will be solid this year and a force next year. I like his ability to put the ball on the ground for a member to get to the hoop. Just needs some lumberjack in him.

 

[IGNORE2]

I have to think there is about a 100% chance someone will leave after this season. Obviously Barnhizer/Berry/Nicholson will go, but with five people coming in, there are going to be too many mouths to feed. There is at least one obvious person that many have speculated on, and as long as the transfers out aren't guys we're counting on (the big boys will come for Martinelli, you can count on that), we should be ok.

Ok - Clayton is going - might as well just say it

Let’s do a way way too early look at next year:

Wind
Mullins
Gel
Mart
Hunger

And an open fight for 6/7 w grad transfer big man at 8

With even two starting spots open and four of the top seven, I would be surprised to see anyone leave unless coaches saw something that says they are out of the race.

The two ‘new’ schollie additions - I bet are held tight and only offered to a great transfer. Maybe a can’t miss PG. Or some Hunter Johnson like transfer that you simply cannot say no to.

We should be good this year. Next year? That’s where I see the growing pains. Mart without another star won’t escape the cellar. And could be a reason for him to go. Who knows. Let’s enjoy this year!

 

[loyolacat]

Possible one of the incomers takes a red shirt season.?

 

[NUThump]

Well, he would have a year of hunger wouldn't he?

Hunger is a RS-Soph.

 

[Deeringfish]

Possible one of the incomers takes a red shirt season.?

I'd be amazed if Bennerman doesn't redshirt. He is such a bean pole, he will get knocked all over the place. He is, OTOH, really athletic looking for such a tall guy very agile and can run rather than lumber up and down the court. He may still be growing (taller) and will put on at least 30 lbs before he is fully developed. I'm really excited about his potential though.

 

[Hungry Jack]

I dug into kenpom and identified the times where Collins brought in classes of 4+ newcomers (Frosh/transfer)

Year	Frosh	Sophs	Juniors/Seniors (in BOLD)
2015	McIntosh Law Lindsey Skelly Vassar	Taphorn Lumpkin	Olah Demps Cobb Sobolewski Kriesberg (grad transfer)
2020	Buie Young Beran J. Jones (Audige)	Kopp Nance Greer	Gaines AJ Turner Spencer (grad transfer)
2022	Roper Simmons Barnhizer	Nicholson Berry	Buie Audige Young Beran Nance Greer Williams (grad transfer)
2026 (projected)	Bannerman Gill Kropp Singleton West	Windham Ciaravino Barkley Clayton	Hunger Martinelli Mullins Smith

I hold the mental model - "get old, stay old." Granted, I'm old, so I'm still getting used to how the portal affects that adage; but what that meant to me is that you wanted to avoid the situations where you're bringing in and/or ultimately graduating huge classes. Its' one thing if you're Calipari golden era Kentucky and you're churning one-and-dones, but for a developmental program like NU that means volatility, which is rarely good.

During Collins' tenure, this has only happened three times (and will happen a 4th time next season). I set the table up in this way because I was curious not just about who was incoming, but also what they were coming into - i.e. who were the upper classmen who are charged with holding the culture and offering that key peer leadership.

Obviously 2015 was going to be a huge class given that was Collins' first one and he was building the program. Goes without saying that BMac, Vic and Scottie were the "Big 3" of that First Dance team, though Taphorn and Lumpkin would play key bench roles, so it speaks highly of Collins ability to retain them (and of course, their willingness to "buy-in").

2020 marked the second cycle for Collins - and going in, it may be perceived that Pete Nance and Miller Kopp were the most influential players via their talent, all the newcomers save Jared Jones (and transfer redshirt Chase Audige), would be called on for minutes and contributions. That was a rough year in the B1G with a 12 game losing streak that would end in a 3-17 B1G campaign. Nevertheless, these hard knocks were a downpayment on a return ticket to the tourney. However, I didn't foresee that return without Kopp, Nance and Young.

2022 had 4 newcomers, but they weren't called upon to play big roles (none of them had greater than 50 %Min) as this team was driven by its juniors and seniors. However, Roper and Simmons injected some juice off the bench, but neither would stick around to be part of the '23 breakthrough. However, Nicholson, Barnhizer, Berry remain as the standard bearers.

2026 - not to look too far ahead, but this will be fascinating new chapter for the program. Ciaravino and Windham have shown that age ain't nothin' but a number with regards to getting playing time. (Simultaneously, its perhaps an indictment of the '24 class of Strauss, Barkley, Clayton which early returns aren't as promising.) I'm projecting that Martinelli and Mullins will serve as team captains. Despite a dream start to his season, Martinelli's press conference rhetoric suggests he will stay ever grounded and keeping the chip-on-his-shoulder. Additionally, Mullins continues to be a super glue guy that earns post-game praise from Collins for his relentless motor. Hard pressed to find two better guys to set the culture for this incoming class that may have the most diverse collective skill-set in the Collins era.

Thank you for this fantastic post.

I think it illustrates CCC's capabilities and growth as a recruiter. Sure he has had misses (the '24 class is more due to Ggarg's kiss of death lame duck public stance than any other single factor), but on balance, he has brought more talented depth to NU hoops than any other coach. Too early to tell what next season's team looks like, as I am expecting to see a lot of growth from Mullins, Gelo and KJ as they accumulate minutes this season. Hunger too, though I think we are getting some sense of his upside.

 

[olshin]

Nice rundown, Not-so-big-Matt.
To think that all of these recruits still have a full season to play and develop their skills and almost a year to mature physically.
And they all (apparently) got thru admissions!
Bennerman at 6'11" (with vertical hops and a 7'5" wingspan) is interesting. He may get taller...

Whats most noticeable to me is that Collins recruited a center, two big forwards and two guards.
Thats an entire lineup.

The only downside to having a great recruiting class of 5 is that it limits the ability to add one of the late bloomers who nobody cares about until they explode as high school seniors. I suppose thats a problem worth having.

We just added 5 of them LOL

 

[hdhntr1]

I'd be amazed if Bennerman doesn't redshirt. He is such a bean pole, he will get knocked all over the place. He is, OTOH, really athletic looking for such a tall guy very agile and can run rather than lumber up and down the court. He may still be growing (taller) and will put on at least 30 lbs before he is fully developed. I'm really excited about his potential though.

ZBigs often RS as they have the most to gain with the extra year

 

[Katatonic]

Chances are, only 2-3 of the 5 will be legit B1G starting caliber players; if get 3 starters and 2 role players out of this class, will be heck of a return.

Thank you for this fantastic post.

I think it illustrates CCC's capabilities and growth as a recruiter. Sure he has had misses (the '24 class is more due to Ggarg's kiss of death lame duck public stance than any other single factor), but on balance, he has brought more talented depth to NU hoops than any other coach. Too early to tell what next season's team looks like, as I am expecting to see a lot of growth from Mullins, Gelo and KJ as they accumulate minutes this season. Hunger too, though I think we are getting some sense of his upside.

Worst class on paper, which seemed to have the least excitement around it was the 2 player class of Martinelli and Hunger for 2022 (which was a reflection of the decreasing returns from the Tourney run).

As it turns out, these 2 ended up being key recruits with only Brooks from the 2021 Class and none from the 2023 class (not counting transfers like Langborg) being impact players.