The Wildcats are reloading with a focus on offense.
Chris Collins has his third incoming transfer as he aims to rebuild the Wildcats.
On Friday morning, Northwestern earned a commitment from Santa Barbara redshirt junior Colin Smith, according to League Ready's Sam Kayser. The 6-foot-8 wing will have one year of eligibility remaining.
247 Sports' Dushawn London reported that schools like Baylor, Texas Tech, West Virginia, Minnesota, SMU, UCF, USC, Virginia and Rutgers were also in the running for UCSB's Smith.
Smith averaged 11.9 points, 4.2 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game on 45.5% shooting and 40.5% from deep last season. He started 31 games for the Gauchos in 2025-26.
The former four-star recruit originally committed to Vanderbilt as the No. 95 overall player in the Class of 2022. Smith appeared in 43 games and made 22 starts for the Commodores before suffering a season-ending right Achilles injury as a sophomore.
Smith then transferred to Santa Barbara, where he improved his three-point shooting from 27.3% to 43.5% in 2024-25. His 11.9 points per game ranked third among UCSB players and was a career-best.
Jan 10, 2023; Knoxville, Tennessee, USA; Vanderbilt Commodores forward Colin Smith (1) brings the ball up court against the Tennessee Volunteers during the second half at Thompson-Boling Arena. Mandatory Credit: Randy Sartin-Imagn ImagesCollins' transfer portal strategy is clear after his first three additions. Northwestern is targeting productive mid-major players and betting on their ability to make the leap to Big Ten play, while also emphasizing offensive ability.
The Wildcats were the worst-shooting team in the league for most of last season. Collins has secured transfer commitments from Smith and Bellarmine's Jack Karasinski — a 41.5% three-point shooter — in an effort to buck that trend. NU is also one of the finalists for Cornell guard Jake Fiegen, who shot 41.4% from deep last year.
Combined with Mount St. Mary's forward Luke McEldon, Northwestern has eight players set to be rostered next fall. Guards Jake West, Angelo Ciaravino and Phoenix Gill are the lone returners, and Karasinski, McEldon and Smith add experience to the group. Top-100 freshman Jayden Hodge and freshman center Symon Ghai round out Collins' eight-man group.
With seven roster spots remaining, Collins still has work to do to fill out his team. Having 6-foot-10 McEldon and an inexperienced freshman center puts Northwestern in an identical spot to last season, with Arrinten Page and Cade Bennerman, and the Wildcats will certainly be targeting at least one more addition to their frontcourt.
In addition to Fiegen, Northwestern has hosted Northeastern guard transfer LA Pratt. The 'Cats could also look to add a late high school recruit to their Class of 2026, similar to how they flipped Nick Martinelli from Elon.