Northwestern is entering a crucial offseason after it fell to Purdue yesterday, likely ending its 2025-26 season. The 'Cats will have a lot of returning talent, but the transfer portal is an ever-present threat in today's NCAA.

Today, I wanted to take a look at NU's returning players and decide who I think might exit for greener pastures. This is entirely guess work -- I'm not someone who has inside sources or any personal relationships with these players. But I am someone that covered the team all season and hasn't missed a game in four years.

With all that being said, here's my best guess:

I'd be stunned if West chose to leave after the season he just had. The freshman guard was fantastic down the stretch, and I just wrote a column the other day about how he's primed to succeed Nick Martinelli as Northwestern's best player.

In the second round of the Big Ten Tournament, West proved he could take over a game, scoring 18 points and dominating the first half while Martinelli struggled early. West is a great passer; he has the size and speed to take it to the rack; his defense improved game by game; and, most importantly, Chris Collins seems to trust him.

Northwestern's point guard of the future isn't going anywhere. It really feels like he's starting to develop that Barnhizer/Martinelli love for the program.

Singleton was up-and-down in his freshman campaign, but the promise is evident. Singleton has a big frame, and he's very effective in the post. He even did a solid job covering a lot of much bigger Big Ten forwards when he had to because the 'Cats were a small team.

Foul troubles were his achilles heel this year, but hopefully Collins can help him clean that up in year two. Singleton was a starter for most of the season, and he got a lot of run, so I'd be surprised if he left.

Kropp is a little more interesting. In a lot of ways, he's similar to West and Singleton. He had a solid freshman year and clearly developed as the season went on. Collins seems to trust him, and he feels like the sort of high-effort player that would appreciate this program and what it stands for.

On the other hand, I'd understand if he was frustrated by the role he was forced into this season. Because Collins only acquired one true center, the 6-foot-9 forward was forced to play the position all year, and I do think that was unfair at the start of his career. For that reason, I think he's more likely than the other two to leave, but I'd still be very surprised.

This is as guess work as it gets, but I think there's some chance one of the two freshmen who didn't play as much -- Gill or Cade Bennerman -- might decide to go to a mid-major.

I'm picking Gill here because I think Northwestern is deeper at the guard spot, and he also didn't redshirt this season like Bennerman did. That might expedite his urgency to be a real contributor at the college level.

Other than West, this is the guy I'm most confident will stay purely on vibes. Ciaravino always seemed to be close with Martinelli and even Barnhizer when he was here. He's also been with Collins for two seasons, and I think he might be motivated to follow in the footsteps of his former teammates as four-season athletes at one school.

I could be wrong, but I just don't see Ciaravino leaving. His veteran presence and his athletic ability are crucial to next year's team, and I think Collins knows that. His retention rate has bordered on unbelievable in recent seasons, and I don't think Ciaravino will be a tough sell.

I considered flipping this prediction, but I think Reid is staying. On one hand, he was legitimately undersized for the Big Ten, and it absolutely did impact his ability to run the offense. Don't let a few 20-point outbursts fool you.

But Reid is incredibly fast; he plays with a high motor which Collins likes; and I thought he was a lot better sharing minutes at the PG spot with West towards the end of the year. Reid got plenty of action, and I think Collins is a fan, so I think he stays.

Green had a bit of a bizarre first season in purple playing time wise. He got some action early in Big Ten play, but he didn't suit up after the Illinois game on February 4. 

I think Green stays because I always bet on Collins to keep most of his players, but he could be frustrated with that dwindling role. We shall see.

This is the one I'm most confident about.

I know Windham said after the loss yesterday that he's still a Northwestern Wildcat, but they have to say that. What did you expect him to say in the locker room directly after the season ended? "Yeah, I'm outta here." Be real.

The reality is, Windham barely played during a season in which many thought he could be Northwestern's second best player. It was incredibly strange, and we still have no idea what was going on behind the scenes. But he feels like the safest bet to leave the program.

Clayton has already been here for three seasons, and he actually played well enough down the stretch to guarantee a role on this squad as a senior.

I'd be really surprised if Clayton and his new-found three-point stroke aren't back in Evanston next season. We know he cares for the program since he burned his redshirt to help the team two years ago. This one feels like a slam dunk.

This might surprise some people, but I think Page is leaving. The transfer big was, simply put, a bad defender in most games he played. To make matters worse, his effort was questionable early in the season, and that's sort of a non-negotiable here in Evanston.

I don't want to rip into Page too much. He got better at both of those things towards the end, and he is legitimately the most talented offensive big I've watched here in four seasons. 

But the facts don't lie. Page was not good enough consistently. He missed a game for disciplinary reasons. His body language was often not great. I'm just not sure he's the best fit here, and if he stays, I absolutely would be in support of him abandoning the five and moving to the four.

This one requires less explanation if you read the Phoenix Gill paragraph above. I think Bennerman will stay one more season in a less crowded Northwestern forward group to see what happens.