Nick Martinelli Sets Northwestern Single-Season Scoring Record

The All-Big Ten forward continued his historic campaign against Wisconsin.

Mar 12, 2025; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Northwestern Wildcats forward Nick Martinelli (2) dribbles the ball while Minnesota Golden Gophers forward Dawson Garcia (3) defends in the second half at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images | Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn Images

Three years ago, Nick Martinelli was a three-star prospect committed to play basketball at Elon University. Now, he's the architect of one of the most prolific seasons in Northwestern history.

In the first half against Wisconsin in the Big Ten Tournament, Martinelli connected on a shot from the paint that gave him the most points in a single season ever for a Wildcat, passing John Shurna's record of 661 points from 2011-12. Two games earlier against Maryland, Martinelli broke Shurna's program record for the most made shots in a season.

Martinelli decommitted from Elon in April of 2022 because of coach Mike Schrague's resignation and ended up in Evanston. His brother, Dom, played under Collins in 2020-21 before transferring to St. Thomas (Minnesota), and now plays at UChicago.

As a freshman, Martinelli averaged just 2.6 points per game and appeared in 20 contests for a Northwestern team that made its first NCAA Tournament since 2017. The following year, Martinelli stepped into a starting role after seniors Ty Berry and Matthew Nicholson went down with injury, averaging 8.8 points per game as the 'Cats made their second consecutive Round of 32.

No one could've predicted Martinelli's rise to becoming the Big Ten's leading scorer in his junior year — not even head coach Chris Collins. However, despite the adversity that Northwestern battled and season-ending injuries that occurred to his co-stars, Martinelli has continued to will the Wildcats to victory and shatter records along the way.

Collins has said that Martinelli was determined to have a winning season in 2025 throughout everything that Northwestern battled. The star forward has done just that, etching his name into the record books in the process.