With the 2026-2027 school year fast approaching, the return of Northwestern’s fall athletic teams is on the horizon, and there are as many reasons to be excited as ever. Some teams are coming off of championship seasons, others have had staff turnovers over the offseason, and others have recruited elite prospects to bolster their ranks. From the gridiron to the turf, NU has talent across the board. These are just some of the players that will be worth keeping an eye on throughout the fall.
Football: Aidan Chiles & Michael Kilbane
I tried
to resist making the obvious choice here.
I could not.
While it is true that Chiles’ tenure at Michigan State did technically end with his benching, there is still so much to be excited for with Chiles at signal caller. For one, Chiles has the arm talent to make almost every pass in the book. Chiles can hit receivers down the field from the opposite hash and has plenty of velocity on his throws, allowing him to fit the ball into tight windows.
Additionally, Chiles’ IQ is a big plus, only recording three interceptions in his eight full games last season. His interception percentage of 1.5 was 17th best in the entire nation for quarterbacks with 200 or more passing attempts.
But what is really exciting is the fact that Chiles is a mobile quarterback who has the opportunity to work with Chip Kelly, who has a long history of working with mobile quarterbacks at both the college and NFL level. Chiles, who rushed for six scores last season, has all the tools that Kelly would want to build his offense around.
Michael Kilbane’s name is here because he will likely be the standout player on NU’s defensive line this upcoming season, but his inclusion here is really representative of the whole unit. It is no secret that the ’Cats had difficulty stopping the run and getting to the quarterback last season.
NU was gashed on the ground multiple times in conference play, Emmett Johnson’s 185 yd two-TD day and Michigan’s 216 team rushing yards against the at Wrigley Field come to mind. NU also ranked in the Big Ten’s bottom five in sacks this past season.
The loss of Anto Saka and Aidan Hubbard likely won’t help these stats, and David Braun will likely be looking for an increase in production from last season’s B1G Honorable Mention if NU wants to address its flaws from last season and make some real noise in the conference.
Men’s Soccer: Aaron O’Reilly
Northwestern men’s soccer has an extremely overhauled roster heading into next season. Ethan Nakolo brings much-needed production to NU after scoring 17 goals in 16 games last season and earning D2CCA First Team All-American honors at Oklahoma Christian, but Russell Payne’s squad is headlined by experienced transfers all over the pitch — such as Andrew Millar, Gabriel Smyth and Marco Silva — and exciting young talents Gavin Baer, Toryn Penders and Luca Toro looking to make impacts early.
But the standout player to watch for this upcoming season is a returning one: Naperville native Aaron O’Reilly.
O’Reilly’s first season in Evanston should serve as a great example for this year’s newcomers on how to make an instant impact. The forward started in 14 of 17 games last season and led the team in goals with five. He wasted no time acclimating either, recording a goal or an assist in three of his first four games.
But O’Reilly really made a name for himself during Northwestern’s conference slate. O’Reilly’s four goals in Big Ten play put him in the top 10 in the entire conference, doing so while playing less minutes than six of the other nine players with that distinction.
It wasn’t just the quantity of goals that was impressive, it was the time at which they came and the teams they came against. He scored to put NU up 1-0 against Rutgers in an eventual win, then put away the lone ‘Cats goal on the road against No. 13 Michigan. He notched an 83rd minute winner in a comeback victory over Ohio State, and to put the game away in a 2-0 win over No. 17 Indiana.
Of the five players who scored more than one goal for the ’Cats last season, only two are returning (Peter Riesz being the other). While a lot of the newcomers are expected to produce, much of the offensive burden will inevitably fall onto O’Reilly shoulders as he’s already shown that he can contribute at this level. If he continues his development from last season, he should be able to carry the weight.
Women’s Soccer: Kiera Kemmerly, Audrey Alberts & Alex Fallon
Northwestern made the NCAA tournament due in large part to its defense, keeping clean sheets in 10 games and only having conceded multiple goals five times all season. That defense was spearheaded by a first-year: Audrey Alberts.
Alberts led the entire team in minutes last year with 1,901 and started all 21 games. A calm and composed presence at the back, Alberts should become more solid on defense as she gains more experience. For an women’s soccer team looking to replicate its strong season from last year, her development will be key to the ’Cats’ success.
The same can be said for fellow sophomore Kiera Kemmerly.
Kemmerly was a huge contributor last season, playing over 1,400 minutes and logging a goal to go along with three assists. When NU’s offense was firing on all cylinders, it was usually because Kemmerly was involved. Of the six multi-goal performances the ’Cats had last season, Kemmerly had a goal or an assist in two of them, with her other contributions being a game winning goal against Butler and an assist to tie the game against ranked Wisconsin. All of these efforts earned Kemmerly an All Freshman Team nod, and she will be expected to fill the hole that the departing Caterina Reggazzoni will leave this upcoming season.
Alex Fallon was having an incredible start to last season, scoring two and assisting three. Fallon contributed to a goal in five of the eight games that she played in. Her biggest goal came against No. 11 Iowa to secure a 1-1 draw. But Fallon’s season came to an unfortunate end due to an injury cutting short what was set to be a stellar campaign. Now that she has had a full offseason of recovery, she’ll surely be set on picking up where she left last season.
Volleyball: Kayla Kaufman, Kaitlyn Bodnar/Ellie Stiernagle
Tim Nollan knew he was gearing up for a rebuild when he came on as head coach in 2024. What he likely didn’t expect, was to have this much success this early. A single season improvement of 12 wins doesn’t happen very often.
The problem now on Nollan’s hands is that much of the talent that made last season so special is out the door. Ayah Elnady, Rylen Reid, Bella Simkus, Lauren Carter, Sienna Noordermeer and Buse Hazan are no longer on the roster. In their absence, the team loses both of its setters, four of its six leaders in kills, and three of its five leaders in both blocks and digs. To replicate — not even build on — last season’s success, NU will need other members of the roster to step up.
Kayla Kaufman is primed to have a monstrous second season. As a first-year she recorded 98 blocks, tying an NU freshman record. Her 1.11 blocks per set ranked top-15 in the entire conference. Kaufman led the team in total blocks last year while playing almost 20 fewer sets than each of the five next-highest block leaders. With Simkus’ departure, Kaufman will surely play more sets as NU’s middle blocker, and she could potentially rise to the top-10 in the entire conference in blocks for an NU team that will need the production.
The other spot was up for debate. Bella Bullington is also coming off of a very impressive first-year campaign as she looks to increase her production next year. Mara Štiglic is a new weapon to the offense who has a lot of experience both at the collegiate level and against international competition for Croatia.
But both of NU’s setters this year are incoming freshmen looking to replace two players who were top 20 in the B1G in assists last season. Both Bodnar and Stiernagle recorded over 1,000 assists in high school and were decorated players. Nollan expects them to make immediate impacts, but just how quickly they adapt to B1G volleyball will have a huge impact on how successful the ’Cats are this upcoming year.
Field Hockey: Maddie Epke
How often is it that a two time reigning national champion roster is able to add a player that was their state’s player of the year in high school with nearly 250 career points? How often does it occur that that same player actually comes from in-house and wasn’t a transfer? How often is it that said player was coming off a national championship in an entirely different sport just three months before?
Maddie Epke spent the last 4 years being an elite player in a different sport, but she does bring plenty of field hockey experience with her to the roster. She spent more seasons as a varsity field hockey player than as a varsity lacrosse player in high school, earning multiple all-region and all-conference teams. Ashley Sessa and Ilse Tromp already lead an extremely potent attack, and if Epke can acclimate quickly to the collegiate level she can be a worthwhile contributor.
Of course Maddie Zimmer’s departure is the elephant in the room, and there are many midfielders vying to fill that space. Jessica Freeman has National Team experience at the U18 and U21 levels. Kiera Sack has years of national team experience as well, on top of being a two time All-American and the 2025 No. 1 Ranked player in the nation according to Max Field Hockey. These names bear mentioning as well.
But can you forgive us for being the most excited about seeing a familiar face in a new place?
