Purdue’s basketball season is about to start feeling real.
Big Ten Media Days are set for next week in Rosemont, Ill., with the women’s teams going first on Wednesday, Oct. 7 and the men following on Thursday, Oct. 8. Coverage starts at noon ET on Big Ten Network both days, and Purdue is sending a familiar mix of veterans, breakout candidates and coaches to represent the program.
For the men, Braden Cox and Daniel Jacobsen will be the players in the spotlight alongside head coach Matt Painter. Cox is heading into his third year at Purdue and stands as the lone returning starter from last season’s team.
The 6-foot-3 guard put up 8.5 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.3 assists per game as a sophomore while shooting 45.7% from the field. One of his best nights came in Evanston, where he scored 27 points in Purdue’s 70-66 win over Northwestern.
With so much turnover around him, Cox could be looking at a much larger role in the 2026-27 season. He also brings two full seasons of starting experience, which makes him an obvious voice for a roster that will need it.
Jacobsen’s path has been a little different, but his importance is just as clear. Last season was his first full run on the floor after a leg injury wiped out nearly his entire freshman year. In that extended opportunity, the 7-foot-4 center averaged 5.5 points, 3.0 rebounds and 1.2 blocks in 12.9 minutes per game.
Now, with Oscar Cluff and Trey Kaufman-Renn gone, Jacobsen is the one expected to take the next step. Painter has already emphasized how much the Boilers need their center to make a major leap, and the size and production Jacobsen showed in limited minutes make him a key piece to watch.
Painter himself will be a major part of the men’s day in Rosemont. He’s entering his 22nd season at Purdue and comes in with 501 career wins at the school after passing 500 last year.
The Boilermakers have reached the Sweet 16 in each of the last three seasons, and they’ve won two Big Ten regular-season championships plus two Big Ten Tournament titles over the last four years. He is also poised to move past Gene Keady as the program’s all-time winningest coach.
On the women’s side, Purdue is bringing two transfers who should draw plenty of attention: Grace Wickstrom and Jade Hunter.
Wickstrom, a 5-foot-10 junior from Australia, arrives from UC-Riverside after putting together a huge sophomore season in 2025-26. She averaged 23.4 points per game, which ranked fifth in the nation, and shot 48.5% from the floor. Purdue is getting a guard who can handle the ball, score from different spots and bring a level of efficiency the program has been searching for.
Hunter comes in after playing at Houston, where she appeared in 29 games and started 16. She finished second on the Cougars in scoring with 9.2 points per game and added 2.2 rebounds and 1.3 assists a night. Before Houston, she spent time at Texas and Texas A&M, but her strongest impact came with the Cougars, where she showed she could catch fire in a hurry by scoring 20 points in five different games.
Head coach Katie Gearlds is entering her sixth season in West Lafayette and is trying to push Purdue back into the postseason. The Boilermakers took a step last year after missing out in 2024-25, getting back to the Big Ten Tournament and winning five conference games. Even so, the program is still chasing more.
Gearlds has brought in multiple additions through the transfer portal and overseas leagues, while only four players return from last year’s roster: McKenna Layden, Taylor Henderson, Saige Stahl and Avery Gordon.
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Purdue Just Landed An Early In-State Recruiting Win Fans Will Notice
Purdue added an early piece to its 2028 recruiting board with the commitment of Oscar Sloan, the Center Grove quarterback whose rise has already made him one of the more closely watched prospects in Indiana. Sloan arrives with a profile that fits the kind of in-state win the Boilermakers want to stack early, especially with multiple Power Four programs also involved.
For Purdue, landing the first commitment in the class is a useful start, and it comes with the added benefit of keeping one of the states top young quarterbacks home for now. Sloan is ranked as the No. 7 prospect in Indiana, so his pledge gives the Boilermakers an early foothold in a class that will only get more crowded from here. [Read more 🡒]
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Purdue Faces A New Scouting Problem At Exactly The Wrong Time
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The Illini have spent much of the season near the bottom of the Big Ten in several defensive categories, but the wrinkle here is less about production and more about what Purdue might actually see on Saturday. Henson noted the possibility of a 3-3-5 structure built to confuse offenses, and with no clear word yet on who will be calling the defense, Purdue is left preparing for a moving target at exactly the wrong time. [Read more 🡒]