Nick Martinelli was selected by the Los Angeles Clippers with the #55 overall pick in the 2026 NBA Draft this past week. Martinelli became the second Northwestern Wildcats draft pick in the past two years, joining Brooks Barnhizer, who went #44 overall to the Oklahoma City Thunder in 2025. This is the first time that the Northwestern Wildcats have enjoyed NBA Draft picks in consecutive years, at any point during the modern two-round NBA Draft era.
Only 25 colleges and universities have had players selected in the past two NBA Drafts.
“I think when you’re building a program, over time, there’s things that you kind of use as benchmarks,” Northwestern Wildcats coach Chris Collins said on a media Zoom call this past Friday.
“First and foremost, you want to be a program that becomes respected day in and day out, teams know they’re going to have their hands full playing against you, and you do that by having some winning, and certainly we were able to do some things in the program’s history that have never been done.
“And that’s been really fun to be a part of.
“And for me the next step individually was to create a legacy of guys who could play at the next level.
And now with Pete Nance being in Milwaukee, Pat Spencer being in Golden State, AND now with these two guys being back to back, I’m not sure how many teams, in the last two years had players drafted out of the same program. I’m sure it’s a pretty small group.”
As Collins pointed out, there are now four Northwestern Wildcats in the NBA.
With Barnhizer and Martinelli going back to back, the Northwestern Wildcats have ended their NBA Draft drought with authority. Prior to Barnhizer, the last Cat drafted was Evan Eschmeyer, which was way back in 1999.
And now it all comes full circle, with Evan’s son, Elijah Eschmeyer beginning his college basketball career at Northwestern this season.
Collins went on to describe the positive impacts on the program that accompany having players get drafted.
“I want young men to come into the program to feel like they can come to a great school, get a great education, have a chance to win at a really high level, be coached at a high level,” Collins continued.
“And then have an opportunity to be NBA players and have professional careers.”
Martinelli, immediately one of the Northwestern Wildcats program greats, will join one of his rivals, Keaton Wagler in L.A. Wagler went fifth overall, out of Illinois, to the Clippers on night one of the NBA Draft.
Collins was asked, on this same media call, what Martinelli brings to the Clippers table.
“He was somebody in our conference that commanded the respect,” the Northwestern Wildcats head ball coach answered.
“It was still one of the most incredible moments to me, the reception he got at his last game, at the Big 10 tournament where it wasn’t just Northwestern fans, but it was everybody in that building giving him a standing ovation, which was really cool.
“He’s going to roll up his sleeves. He’s going to be in the gym. No one’s going to outwork him.
“Just anything competitively, he really shined.
“There’s always a learning curve with rookies. I think this is a great team for him to go to, their whole franchise, their coach, Tyronn Lue, played for my dad in Washington
“I know how he’s wired. I know what he’s about.
“Jeff Van Gundy, he’s on their staff. They got a lot of guys there that are going to love what Nick brings to the table. When it comes to the two guys back-to-back, it’s incredible.
“Just as a coach and as someone who’s been a part of those journeys, to see those guys achieve their dreams and become NBA players.
“To do it once with Brooks, but now back to back with Nick, I told our players this morning what great examples for all of them to look at. Two guys, they they never got caught up in the outside noise.
“There were ups and downs, throughout their four-year journey, but they never veered from the course.
“They stayed true to the program and it worked out really well at the end.
“So I think it’s great for the narrative of who we are and who we try to continue to be, and hopefully, they’ll be examples of future players as they come into our program.”
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.