Northwestern Men's Basketball Offers Intriguing 2026 Midwest Product
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Northwestern head coach Chris Collins is taking some bigger swings in the 2026 recruiting cycle with five current outstanding offers to four-star recruits. Granted, some of those players were not ranked as high when they received their offer from the Wildcats, but the fact remains that Northwestern is shooting high.
Yesterday, though, the 'Cats offered Wisconsin power forward Andrew Jensen who is unranked on 247Sports. He announced his offer on X.
After a great call with @coach_collins I’m grateful to receive an offer from @NUMensBball @Kaukaunabball @FundamentalUA pic.twitter.com/w90SVnlAJR
— Andrew Jensen (@AJensen320) June 24, 2025
Given the ascension of other recruits Northwestern has offered this cycle, Jensen's lack of a ranking means less. Collins and co. clearly see something in the 6-foot-9 forward, and his other offers support the theory that there might be more to Jensen than his ranking suggests.
Power conference programs like Illinois, Marquette, West Virginia and Wisconsin have all submitted offers. When looking at unranked players, offers like that are a good sign that a ranking might be coming soon. Remember, a website's opinion isn't the end-all-be-all, and it will adjust if coaches around the country make decisions that suggest it should.
As it stands, Northwestern is unlikely to receive commitments from a lot of the four-stars it has offered. But it's encouraging that Collins is able to find these players before others seem to know what they're dealing with.
Maybe Jensen acquires a ranking and some bigger programs muddy the waters. But maybe he doesn't, and the 'Cats have themselves a diamond in the rough. At his height, with a weight of 205 lbs, he certainly seems like he has the size to be just that and contribute in the Big Ten.
Northwestern will hope to win the battle for Jensen's services. Its 2026 class is far from clear, but Jensen seems like an attainable target for now.
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Ryan Cole is a writer for Northwestern Wildcats On SI covering every team on campus. He’s currently a junior at NU where he’s studying journalism and previously wrote and edited for Inside NU. He also studies business with an eye towards eventually helping develop business models to revive local news. In his free time, Cole enjoys watching sports, playing sports, reading the news and singing.