Size is a big need this offseason.
Chris Collins has put together the highest rated transfer class in program history according to 247 Sports with the additions of USF’s Jayden Reid and Holy Cross’s Max Green, but Northwestern still has one major need its head coach is yet to address.
With redshirt sophomore big man Luke Hunger in the portal, the ‘Cats find themselves extraordinarily thin at the center position. Class of 2025 signee Cade Bennerman is the lone center on Northwestern’s current roster. The 6’11 native of Nashville, TN is a three-star recruit out of high school who committed to the ‘Cats over the likes of Michigan, Penn State, Cal and USF, but no matter how talented Bennerman is (very talented), it would be a massive ask to trust the true freshman to anchor Northwestern’s big man rotation before he plays a minute of college basketball.
Anchor may not ever be the right word for it. Right now, Bennerman IS the big man rotation. Four-star recruit Tre Singleton is 6’8, and Northwestern doesn’t return another player over 6’7.
Collins has one remaining scholarship offer to give out, and he has reportedly been busy searching for a new big man in the portal. Youngstown State center Gabe Dynes visited Evanston on April 1 before committing to USC on Saturday afternoon. Northwestern has also been connected to Samford’s Riley Allenspach, Elon’s Matthew Van Komen and most recently Grand Canyon’s Duke Brennan. If Hunger doesn’t come back — a possibility that the big man kept open when he entered the portal last week — expect Collins to add a name from that list in the next few weeks.
That’s all assuming that Brooks Barnhizer doesn’t get his waiver approved and come back for another year. The senior forward had the Northwestern fanbase dizzy with hypotheticals on Friday with a series of social media posts squashing any rumors that he would transfer out of Evanston if he were to be granted another year of eligibility (sorry, Purdue!).
— Brooks Barnhizer (@BrooksBarnhizer) April 11, 2025
Is No. 13 lacing them up for one last ride? I’ll leave the speculation to the professionals, though the addition of Max Green does seem to make a fifth year of Barnhizer less likely with one scholarship left and no returning centers on the roster.
To quickly entertain the possibility of a Barnhizer swan song, Northwestern would likely trot out a starting lineup that includes Jayden Reid, Max Green, Barnhizer, Martinelli and one of of Justin Mullins, KJ Wyndham, Tre Singleton, Cade Bennerman or Angelo Ciaravino. The list of names there is long mostly because there is not a lot to go by regarding small ball lineups from Collins in the last few season. This year, Northwestern played just 37 minutes without one of Hunger, Matt Nicholson or Keenan Fitzmorris, and the analytics were less than elite. According to CBB Analytics, Northwestern had a defensive rating of 123.8 without a big man on the floor which was in the 1st percentile of ALL lineups last season, though the seven minutes of Ty Berry, Mullins, Leach, Barnhizer and Martinelli had a much more impressive defensive rating of 82.1. I’d probably go with Mullins as the fifth if Collins doesn’t yet trust Singleton and Bennerman to start as true freshman.
In the much more likely scenario in which Captain Brooks doesn’t get his waiver, here are the guys that Northwestern is currently targeting in the portal.
Duke Brennan, Grand Canyon, Junior
The 6’10 center averaged 10.4 points and 9.2 rebounds last season in just 26.6 minutes per game to help lead GCU to its third straight NCAA tournament appearance. Brennan is by far the best offensive big that Northwestern has been connected to in the portal and would have the potential to be Northwestern’s best scorer at the center position since the great Derek Pardon. He has garnered a bevy of Power 5 interest outside of Northwestern, including Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina, according to Rivals, and he has one year of eligibility remaining after beginning his career at Arizona State.
Brennan is a bit of a question mark defensively averaging just 0.4 blocks per game in his junior season, which would by far be the lowest total for a Chris Collins center, though he does have the frame to excel as an interior defender at 6’10, 250 lb. Regardless, Brennan would be a massive get for Northwestern and immediately plug Northwestern’s most important hole as soon as he steps on campus.
Matthew Van Komen, Elon, Graduate Student
Van Komen is a monster at 7’4, 260 lb. He averaged 6.0 points, 7.8 rebounds and 2.3 blocks in his senior season with Elon in addition to earning CAA All-Defensive Team honors. The graduate student is probably the clearest Matt Nicholson replacement on this list for his defensive prowess alone.
He was a four-star recruit out of high school and spent his freshman season at Utah before transferring to St. Mary’s. Van Komen played 12 games for the Gaels during his sophomore season, but he then took two years off and transferred to Division II Hawaii Pacific for the 2023-24 season. Van Komen’s year at Elon marked his fourth school in six years of college basketball.
The graduate student has mostly garnered mid-major interest as of now, according to The Portal Report, and Northwestern is the highest profile school that has contacted him as of the latest information.
Riley Allenspach, Samford, Sophomore
Allenspach averaged 7.8 points, 3.0 rebounds and 0.3 blocks in just 13.7 minutes per game last season for Samford. The 6’11 sophomore scored a career-high 22 points against VMI in late February, and he scored 10 or more points in 12 of 33 games for the Bulldogs.
Allenspach would be a much more raw option than Brennan given his relative lack of experience, but he has been a similarly hot name in the transfer portal, garnering interest from Georgia Tech, Mississippi State, Virginia Tech and others, according to On3 Sports. Allenspach would come to Evanston with two years of eligibility.