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2025-26 Team Preview: Northwestern
Will the Wildcats send Joe McKeown out on a high?
Sure there was a WNBA All-Star game last weekend, but how about a quick trip down under to look at a Big Ten alum?
Jaz Shelley has been dominant in Australia’s National Basketball League, leading her Geelong United team with 20.5 PPG, 6.2 APG and 3.7 SPG. She has also added 7.4 RPG, is shooting 50.3% from the field and has a team-leading 74 made threes. If that all wasn’t enough, Geelong United has won 22 straight games with Shelley leading the way.
With such a dominant performance in Australia, I wonder if the former Nebraska Cornhusker and WNBA draft pick will get another chance on a future W team, expansion or otherwise. Regardless, she has been unbelievable in the NBL and deserves the recognition.
Table of Contents
2024-25 Overview
It had been a downward turn for Northwestern the two seasons prior to last year, with matching 9-21 records both of those campaigns after ending with a winning record in 8 of 9 seasons from 2013-22.
What once was one of the most frustrating defenses to play in the country bottomed out to a defensive rating that was 360th in 2023-24 out of, well, 360 teams.

Northwestern’s numbers did improve last season, with the offense scoring better (+2.1 PPG) and the defense making more stops (-5.6 PPG allowed), but the win column remained unmoved: Nine total wins for a third straight seasons. The losses dropped by three, but that’s due to cancellations for road matchups against UCLA and USC, as well as for missing the Big Ten Tournament entirely.
On the whole, the Wildcats improved their shooting and, despite it not being a strength still, were much better on the glass with a rebound rate that was 2.2% better than 23-24. Where they were much worse was from deep: Northwestern shot 6.1% worse from three, and made less than 100 (99) across the entirety of the season, one of the worst rates in the country.
With only three players breaking into the double digits for threes made and a bottom 100 free throw rate, Northwestern’s attack was extremely one-dimensional: The Wildcats finished with the fourth-highest percentage of points from inside the arc (66.1%) in the nation.
Where Northwestern excelled, though, was with its ball movement. The Wildcats’ assist rate remained tremendous once again, finishing 12th in the NCAA. Combine that with a respectable 17.1% turnover rate, and Northwestern held a 1.23 assist-to-turnover ratio that was 17th in the country. There’s a foundation there that should lead to more offensive success, the team just needs to find a way to get more well-rounded scoring to match the playmaking.
Here's last year’s Northwestern roster, sorted by Her Hoop Stats win shares:

Departures
Despite its recent struggles, Northwestern continues to avoid the mass exodus in the transfer portal that many teams with similar records have. Six players are not returning from the 2024-25 team, but only two through the portal, and only one that saw action last season.
Melannie Daley is still a major loss, though, as she’s been a consistent scorer for the Wildcats each of the past two seasons. Hailey Weaver also had a notable role two seasons ago before stepping away from basketball last year, but she will now be adding her scoring to in-conference foe Nebraska.
Four more graduates are also leaving, two of which started every game last season, and the other led the team in scoring, so they are pretty significant exits. Kyla Jones and Taylor Williams had successful one-year stints with the team, with Williams immediately adding necessary rebounding and defensive playmaking to the fray. Caileigh Walsh has also been a very steady scorer, shot blocker and rebounder for Northwestern over her four years with the team, so her impact may not be easily replaced.
Returnees

Casey Harter was trusted with significant minutes and led Northwestern in threes made as a sophomore. Credit: Ryan Kuttler, Northwestern Athletics
Northwestern’s list of returnees includes all four members of its 2024 freshman class, which is a great sign even if that class did not pay immediate dividends last season. It also includes three key upperclassmen contributors that are likely to lead the way this year.
Casey Harter’s numbers don’t fly off the page from her sophomore season, but she was clearly relied on heavily with a team-leading 34.3 minutes per game. She was the team’s most capable three-point shooter and was great at avoiding turnovers, with the largest gap in her game being the low usage (10.3% rate).
Caroline Lau continues to prove herself as an elite passer (10th in NCAA in APG), but her shot took a dramatic decline last season, dipping below 30% from the field. Lau doesn’t have to be the team’s sharpshooter, but she needs to get back to a more steady rate than we saw last season.
Grace Sullivan is the team’s top returnee via win shares, and the Bucknell transfer got off to a strong start with the team in strong performances against Utah and Cornell. She ultimately moved to a reserve spot during Big Ten play, but should be relied on more this season with her strong interior efficiency.
As said above, the 2024 class is all back once again, but I would like to actually see them on the court this season after none of those players averaged even 10 minutes per game in 24-25. Xamiya Walton was the highest rated recruit of the bunch and saw the most consistent action, but struggled mightily from the field (21.2 FG%). It’s hard to make any sweeping judgments on the remaining group yet, but I think this is a team that should be in position to give underclassmen minutes to see what they have.
This also feels like the time to mention another returnee who is entering their final season. That is head coach Joe McKeown, who has been with this program since 2008 and announced that the 2025-26 campaign will be his last. His impact on the Northwestern program is significant, and he boasts over 700 wins at the Division I level for a reason. I think a last dance of sort for the beloved head coach could absolutely be something that sparks this team all year long.
Incoming Players

A fascinating set of guard help is on the way, with Furman’s Tate Walters being the most established addition of the bunch. Walters is a great potential volume scorer to add into the picture, and while her perimeter shooting dipped last season, she has hit 69 threes on 37.3% efficiency prior. She is also a great additional playmaker and will immediately add a punch to their defensive woes.
DaiJa Turner has not seen much action for TCU, especially so with last year’s influx of talent, but she brings solid size (6-3) and put up truly jaw-dropping high school numbers (22.6 RPG, 9.8 BPG). She should get a chance to put more of that on display with her newest purple team.
Sammy White has been at Northwestern her whole career, just not for the basketball team. She’s making the move over for her final year of eligibility, though, and could bring some important extra scoring to the table.
Both Angelina Hodgens and Amparo López feel like solid backcourt additions, with López being especially impressive to me as a late signee that should be able to make a quick impact. There’s room for minutes this season for both first-year players, especially if one of them can bring an immediate scoring punch.
Outlook
Projected Starters
Caroline Lau - G
Tate Walters - G
Casey Harter - G
Grace Sullivan - F
DaiJa Turner - F
Projected Big Ten Finish: 15th
It would be great to see Northwestern show some new signs of progress in McKeown’s final season, especially after three straight years in nine-win purgatory.
There’s a large set of returning names, but also a large portion of the scoring production that has departed in some fashion. This team has a lot of potential pieces I’m excited to see more from, but it’s in pretty significant need of some primary options to rely on for putting points up.
Sullivan could see an uptick based on what she showed last year, but I’m hoping to see Harter take on a more active role in the offense in year three. Lau should stay as such a reliable facilitator, and Walters should help to bolster that missing scoring punch. I do think there’s a glaring roster hole at forward, and while I think Tayla Thomas has a chance at starting here, I’m leaning Turner as someone who could surprise after being passed over with the Horned Frogs.
I’m a believer in Northwestern rallying behind its legendary coach and competing more than it has shown recently. I think the Wildcats can, and should, break double-digit victories this season, and I’m hoping to see the rise of players like Thomas, Walton or Kat Righeimer in their second seasons.
It feels like a tall task for Northwestern to get much further out of the bottom tier of the Big Ten than this, but getting back into the conference tournament and finding a more balanced offensive identity would be important small steps to make in this program finding the groove it had not all that long ago.
Photo Credit: Ryan Kuttler, Northwestern Athletics
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