The last Northwestern athlete to get drafted into the NBA was Evan Eschmeyer in 1999. After Brooks Barnhizer went down with a season-ending foot injury in January, it appeared that streak would continue.
However, the former Wildcat captain appears to be rising up big boards as he undergoes the pre-draft process. Barnhizer was invited to the G League Elite Camp last month, and while he was not medically cleared yet and couldn’t participate in live action, the 6-foot-6 wing was able to meet with scouts and eventually worked out for the Denver Nuggets and Sacramento Kings.
Less than two weeks ago, Barnhizer landed at No. 85 on ESPN’s big board. On Tuesday, he earned his highest ranking yet from The Athletic’s Sam Vecenie. Barnhizer was listed as the No. 45 overall prospect in Vecenie’s official 2025 NBA Draft Guide, predicting the versatile Wildcat to be among the 59 players to hear their names called on June 25 and 26.
“Barnhizer is my kind of player,” Vecenie said. “I love players who can defend like he can within a team concept who also have positional size and length. With his massive 6-foot-11 wingspan and broad shoulders, he has a chance to be valuable at the NBA level on that end, especially when considering how sharp he is on the weak side.”
The four-year Northwestern guard/forward slotted into Vecenie’s seventh-best tier out of eight, made up of projected two-way players that should be a high priority for teams to invest in. With only 15 roster spots per NBA team, it’s likely that Barnhizer finds his way onto a G League roster and tries to work his way up to the highest level, as former Wildcat Pat Spencer did with the Golden State Warriors.
Barnhizer has the tools to be a quality role-player in the NBA, especially as an on-ball perimeter defender. However, Vecenie sees several pathways for improvement before he can reach that point and be a full-time NBA player. Namely, Barnhizer’s jump shot must take a leap, as he shot just 41.4% from the field and 26.6% from deep last season.
“Ultimately, because there’s some work that is required here, I think he’s more of a two-way guy,” Vecenie said. “However, he’d be one of the guys I’d look to target as a priority on one of my two-way slots. The basketball IQ and size are top-notch.”
Each NBA team has three available two-way contracts to sign players to. Under such a deal, Barnhizer would split time between an NBA team and its G League affiliate over the course of one or two seasons, depending on the contract. Former Northwestern stars Boo Buie (New York Knicks) and Pete Nance (Milwaukee Bucks) were both two-way players during the 2024-25 campaign.
Vecenie’s ranking is the newest indicator of Barnhizer’s rising stock, and if he continues to wow scouts in pre-draft workouts, Barnhizer’s name could be called a lot earlier than fans and analysts expect.
