Northwestern's transfer portal search continued today, as the Wildcats secured a commitment from rising sophomore guard Aleksej Kostić. Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress reported the news on X.
Kostić is originally from Austria, and he spent his freshman campaign with BYU where he received limited minutes for most of the season. Late in the year though, he was thrust into more minutes, and he performed well.
For the season, Kostić averaged 4.4 points per game in 12 minutes per game during the 27 contests he appeared in. He also started in five. Early in the season, his scoring numbers were pretty sporadic, but that changed a little in the second half.
For a three-game stretch towards the end of February, Kostić scored in the double digits. He also had 11 points in a Big 12 Tournament victory over Kansas State, as well as eight points in BYU's March Madness loss to Texas in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament.
Kostić was not a particularly highly ranked recruit coming out of high school, but he did get an opportunity to play with a fairly high-level basketball team. With A.J. Dybantsa in the fold this season, the Cougars were a popular pick to go much further than they did in the Tournament.
For Northwestern, this isn't the kind of addition that is guaranteed to pay dividends, but it's a flyer they deemed worth taking. Coming off improved production in the back half of the year, Kostić could be primed to continue that momentum
It's also important to point out that we're talking about a rising sophomore. Most NU fans were upset when Tyler Kropp left in the portal this offseason, for example, and his stats appear similarly underwhelming on the surface. It's the potential that made him a piece worth keeping.
Similarly, Kostić is the kind of transfer that head coach Chris Collins is betting on being able to develop for the future. After losing multiple of last year's freshman class, bringing in some young talent seems like a good idea.
Northwestern has made a dent in the daunting process of rebuilding its roster after nine players left in the portal this offseason. So far, Collins has addressed guard with players like LA Pratt and Kostić. He's also added players at the forward and center spots, but those feel like bigger needs now after this move.
Center, specifically, will likely be addressed in the coming days. Collins signed 6-foot-10 Luke McEldon to help man the position alongside freshman Symon Ghai. But the 'Cats suffered this season from a lack of big-man depth, and it seems likely that Collins won't allow that to happen again.