Northwestern Among Landing Spots for Grand Canyon Transfer
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As the Wildcats anxiously await an announcement on whether star forward Brooks Barnhizer will return to Evanston for a fifth season, Northwestern is remaining active in the transfer portal.
In a Friday report from The Athletic's Tobias Bass, Northwestern was listed among four schools that have reached out to Grand Canyon transfer forward Duke Brennan. The 6-foot-10, 250-pound big man will be a senior next season and was named to the WAC's All-Conference Second Team in 2024-25.
Kansas, Oklahoma and South Carolina were also included in Bass' report. Brennan previously scheduled visits to Stanford, Villanova and Iowa.
Brennan played 36 games as a freshman at Arizona State before transferring to Grand Canyon in 2023. He helped bring the Antelopes to consecutive March Madness appearances and averaged career highs in points (10.4 per game), rebounds (9.2 per game) and shooting efficiency (64.6%).
The forward has played in the NCAA Tournament in each of his three collegiate seasons. In 2024, the No. 12-seeded Lopes upset Saint Mary's in the Round of 64 before falling to Alabama, which eventually reached the Final Four.
Grand Canyon has reached March Madness in both of the last two seasons by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. In the 2025 title game against Utah Valley, Brennan posted a 16-point, 10-rebound double-double on 5-of-6 shooting to clinch GCU's second consecutive conference tournament championship.
Brennan's size could make him an ideal candidate to replace graduating center Matthew Nicholson. He has attempted just three triples in his career and likely would spend most of his time camped in the paint or setting screens on the perimeter in a similar role.
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Gavin Dorsey is the Lead Writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI and covers a handful of other teams in the On SI network. Before joining On SI in February 2025, he wrote for the Star Tribune and Inside NU while broadcasting college sports for both radio and television. Dorsey is a graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, where he also studied psychology. In his free time, he enjoys running and being outdoors. Dorsey is currently a freelance writer for the Associated Press, covering Chicago area sports teams.
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