Northwestern Wildcats Make Offer to Intriguing Top-50 2026 Recruit

The four-star becomes Northwestern's third offer in the 2026 cycle.

St. Rose’s Jayden Hodge drives to the basket. St. Rose Boys Basketball loses to Roselle Catholic 55-51 in Non-Public B boys basketball state championship in Piscataway on March 14, 2025. | Peter Ackerman / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Northwestern's roster for next season appears to be set after Chris Collins and co. filled out the scholarship chart. Now, in the recruiting space, it's time to start looking ahead to future seasons.

Four-star 2026 small forward Jayden Hodge announced earlier this week that he received an offer from the Wildcats. He shared the news on X.

Blessed to receive an offer from Northwestern University!!! pic.twitter.com/ueymUYGi5y

— Jayden (@Jaydenhodge33) April 29, 2025

Hodge is the No. 48 recruit in his class, according to 247Sports, and the No. 2 recruit out of New Jersey. Standing at 6-foot-6, he could probably end up playing the two or the three at the college level.

In Evanston, landing a four-star recruit is a big get. Hodge is an ambitious target for Collins and his staff but one that could make a serious impact on the team down the line.

Given his high ranking, it makes sense that the 'Cats are up against some stiff competition for Hodge's services. Big Ten rivals Maryland and Penn State have both offered Hodge, while other power-conference schools like Virginia Tech and Villanova have offered as well.

If Northwestern can find a way to seal the deal, he'd be joining a youth movement with promising potential. The 'Cats have five freshmen entering the program this year, and Hodge is the third offer they've made in the 2026 cycle. He joins four-star TJ Crumble and three-star Colin Rice.

The 'Cats also have returning sophomores K.J. Windham and Angelo Ciaravino, as well as a sophomore transfer addition in Max Green.

All this is to say that Collins is hard at work trying to form his next group of core players in the post-Buie-Barnhizer-Martinelli era. If he can convince Hodge to wear purple and white, that would be a big boost in the process.