Here's Who Will Represent Purdue Men's and Women's Basketball at Big Ten Media Days
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How do we know the college basketball season is just around the corner? Big Ten Media Days are just one week away. The Purdue men's and women's basketball teams are headed to Rosemont, Ill. next week, the first sign that tipoff has almost arrived.
The women's basketball teams will be featured on Wednesday, Oct. 7 and the men's squads will take over on Thursday, Oct. 8. Coverage begins at noon ET on Big Ten Network on both days.
Here's who the Boilermaker basketball teams are taking to Rosemont next week to represent the programs.
Purdue men's basketball
C.J. Cox, guard (Jr.)
Cox is entering his third season at Purdue and is the only returning starter from last year's team. The 6-foot-3 guard averaged 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per contest as a sophomore, shooting 45.7% from the floor. He had one of the best performances of his career just down the road from Rosemont during Purdue's trip to Northwestern last season. In that game, he dropped 27 points in Evanston to lead the Boilermakers to a 70-66 victory.
With so many key players from last year's squad gone, Cox could have an increased role for the 2026-27 campaign. He is also expected to be one of the leaders of this year's team, bringing two years of starting experience to the court.
Daniel Jacobsen, center (Jr.)
Last season was Jacobsen's first full year on the floor for Purdue. He suffered a leg injury as a freshman that kept him sidelined for nearly the entire year. The 7-foot-4 center averaged 12.9 minutes per game and posted 5.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks per game.
With Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn gone, it's Jacobsen's time to shine. Head coach Matt Painter has talked about the importance of the center taking a big jump this year, providing the Boilers with a solid post presence. It will be interesting to see how Jacobsen performs with an increased role this year.
Matt Painter, head coach
Painter enters his 22nd season as the head coach at Purdue and has enjoyed plenty of success recently. The Boilermakers have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons and have claimed two Big Ten regular-season championships and a pair of Big Ten Tournament titles in the last four years.
Last year, Painter eclipsed 500 career victories at Purdue and sits with 501 entering this season. He is sure to pass legendary head coach Gene Keady as the program's all-time winningest coach.
Purdue women's basketball
Hannah Wickstrom, guard (Jr.)
A 5-foot-10 junior from Australia, Wickstrom comes to Purdue from UC-Riverside. She was the nation's fifth-leading scorer as a sophomore during the 2025-26 season, averaging 23.4 points per game. She also shot the basketball at a 48.5% clip.
Wickstrom provides Purdue with a ball-handler who can score from multiple areas on the floor. She also has a high shooting percentage, something the Boilermakers have struggled to find in recent seasons. She was a huge addition to the offseason roster via the transfer portal.
Kyndall Hunter, guard (Sr.)
Hunter transferred to Purdue from Houston, where she played in 29 games and made 16 starts for the Cougars. She averaged 9.2 points and was the team's second-leading scorer last year. She also had previous stops at Texas and Texas A&M, but Houston is where she made the biggest impact during her college career.
The 5-foot-7 guard also averaged 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game last season. She proved she can heat up quickly, scoring 20 points in five different games with the Cougars.
Katie Gearlds, head coach
Gearlds enters her sixth season at the helm in West Lafayette and is hoping to get the Boilermakers back into the postseason. Purdue made a jump from the 2024-25 season, returning to the Big Ten Tournament and winning five conference games last year. But the program is still looking to do more.
Purdue added several important pieces from the transfer portal, as well as overseas leagues, to bolster its roster. Gearlds returns just four players from last year's team: McKenna Layden, Taylor Henderson, Saige Stahl and Avery Gordon.
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Dustin Schutte is the publisher of Purdue Boilermakers on SI and has spent more than a decade working in sports journalism. His career began in 2013, when he covered Big Ten football. He remained in that role for eight years before working at On SI to cover the Boilermakers. Dustin graduated from Manchester University in Indiana in 2010, where he played for the men's tennis team.
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