Northwestern Baseball Suffers Multiple Transfer Portal Losses

Several Wildcats are searching for new homes after the 2025 season.

April 27, 2025, Evanston, IL: A game between Northwestern Baseball and Washington at Rocky and Berenice Miller Park in Evanston, IL on Sunday, April 27, 2025. | Photo: Henry Frieman/Northwestern Athletics

The Wildcats took a major leap forward in 2025, improving by seven wins and logging their best season by winning percentage in two decades. Northwestern will look to achieve its first record over .500 since 2000 next year, but the roster may look very different after an exodus of players.

Trent Liolios and Preston Knott were the first dominoes to fall, entering the transfer portal in late May. The two started 49 and 51 games, respectively, for the Wildcats this season and combined to hit 21 of the team's program record 73 home runs. While Liolios and Knott are the only position player starters in the portal, several other outgoing players could leave Northwestern without much depth.

Veteran infielder Vincent Bianchina is the most experienced of the bunch, but didn't see the field much this season after a hand injury limited him to 12 games. Thanks to a medical redshirt, the five-year Wildcat has entered the portal with one final season of eligibility remaining. Bianchina will bring experience to his next destination, having started 152 games in Evanston.

Graduate transfer Sonny Rao, sophomore Kelly Crittenberger and sophomore Zach Selfron are transferring as well, but provided minimal contributions to the 'Cats this season. Rao had just three at-bats after coming to Evanston from Bossier Parish Community College, while neither Crittenberger nor Selfron appeared in 2025. All three are listed as infielders by the team.

Northwestern is also set to lose four right-handed relievers who earned playing time this season.
Freshman Ethan Borggren (2-0, 6.55 ERA) is an intriguing departure after playing both ways. The Chicago native kept opponents scoreless in four of his eight appearances on the mound and took eight at-bats. Junior Amar Tsengeg (1-2, 13.50) threw 28 innings for NU over 15 appearances in 2025, the fourth-most among Wildcat relievers. Sophomore Cole Mascott (0-2, 20.25) and senior Chad Readey (0-0, 40.50) will leave after pitching 5 1/3 and 2.0 innings, respectively.

Head coach Ben Greenspan brought in a massive transfer portal class last season to reshape the roster, and the Wildcats' leader will likely do the same again before 2026. Northwestern hasn't finished in the top half of the Big Ten since 2010, when the team tied for third, but Greenspan's improvement from his first year at the helm to his second should inspire confidence from fans that the 'Cats' trajectory will keep going upward.