15. Washington Huskies
After a turbulent first season, Danny Sprinkle looks to take a significant step forward in year two. The Huskies will lose Great Osobor, Tyler Harris to Vanderbilt and Mekhi Mason to Wake Forest. In 2025-26, Washington will be centered around sophomore backcourt trio Wesley Yates III, who averaged 14.1 PPG at USC and Zoom Diallo, who averaged 11.1 PPG, 3.1 RPG and 2.7 APG last season in Seattle. The Huskies will add high-scoring guard Quimari Peterson, who averaged 19.5 PPG, 4.5 RPG and 3.7 APG on 42.2% shooting from three at East Tennessee State.
But the Huskies are lacking proven size after the departure of Osobor. That’s where Rutgers transfer Lathan Sommerville comes into play. Somerville, alongside Franck Kepnang, will be key to bolstering Washington's physicality in order to escape the bottom of the Big Ten.
14. Northwestern Wildcats
After an embattled 2024-25 campaign riddled by injuries and a series of late-game misfortunes, Northwestern’s 2025-2026 success hinges on the looming NBA Draft decision of high-scoring sensation Nick Martinelli. The Wildcats will welcome a strong recruiting class that ranks 21st in 247’s class of 2025 composite rankings. Leading the recruiting class is top 100 recruit Tre Singleton, who should see significant playing time as a freshman this winter.
The Wildcats were active in the transfer portal, landing Jayden Reid, the heartbeat in South Florida’s backcourt last season. Reid will expect to be the heartbeat in the backcourt once again, this time in Evanston. In addition, plenty of Northwestern's younger pieces return: Jordan Clayton, KJ Windham and Angelo Ciaravino. But they must step up, including Justin Mullins, who is poised for a senior-year jump.