Tre Singleton was the highest-rated recruit in Northwestern history when he committed to the program just 18 months ago.
Catastrophe has struck Evanston, Illinois.
Northwestern has always been a program that has excelled at retaining its best players. The promise of an elite academic degree with the ability to build a four-year legacy has kept several talented faces from leaving Northwestern. All-Big Ten players Boo Buie, Chase Audige, Brooks Barnhizer and Nick Martinelli each ended their careers with the 'Cats, and even Pete Nance didn't transfer to North Carolina until after graduating from NU.
The pride that Northwestern takes in retaining talent has been made clear amid the NIL and transfer portal era, but that trend took a major hit on Thursday afternoon. Freshman forward Tre Singleton is reportedly planning to enter the portal, according to On3's Joe Tipton.
Singleton was the highest-rated commitment in Northwestern history and a unanimous four-star prospect out of Jeffersonville, Indiana. He chose the Wildcats over Purdue, Notre Dame and Louisville, among other programs, and was the No. 93 player in the nation according to 247 Sports.
The 6-foot-8, 225-pound forward started 31 of Northwestern's 34 games this season. He averaged 7.6 points, 4.8 rebounds and 1.5 assists per game on 47.7% shooting, 16.7% from deep and 73.8% from the line.
Led by Singleton, the Wildcats' 2025 recruiting class ranked 30th in the country. The likely departures of Singleton and Cade Bennerman leave Jake West, Tyler Kropp and Phoenix Gill as the only projected returners from the five-man group after just one season.
The Indiana native was widely viewed as the program's successor to Big Ten leading scorer Nick Martinelli. Chris Collins and Singleton fielded pre-season questions about the lofty expectations facing such a highly-touted recruit and the possibility that Collins could be coaching his first one-and-done player.
His freshman season produced mixed results. Singleton flashed as someone who could defend almost any position and displayed versatility on both ends of the floor, but struggled to shoot the ball and frequently found himself in foul trouble.
Northwestern will now be tasked with replacing a player who many believed would be a cornerstone of the team's long-term future. The Wildcats are one more transfer portal entrant away from having more departures than returning players on the roster for the second year in a row, and the pressure will be on Collins to construct a better team than this past season's 15-19 debacle.
The NCAA men's basketball transfer portal is set to officially open on Tuesday, Apr. 7.