Northwestern Names Captains for 2025 Campaign
8/21/2025 11:27:00 AM | Football
EVANSTON, Ill. – Northwestern Head Coach David Braun has announced graduate Wildcats Carmine Bastone, Cam Porter, Preston Stone, Caleb Tiernan and Mac Uihlein as team captains for the 2025 season.
Porter is just the second three-time captain in program history, joining Paddy Fisher on the exclusive list. Bastone is also the 20th multi-year captain in Wildcat football history.
Since joining the program as a preferred walk-on in 2021, Bastone has solidified himself as a core piece of the locker room and a mainstay on the defensive line. He first saw the field in 2022 as a redshirt first-year, appearing in six games, before becoming a key contributor in 2023 and a team captain in 2024. He returns to Evanston this fall and was recently honored with the No. 1 jersey for his final season. Considered the highest honor in the program, the No. 1 jersey recognizes the student-athlete who best embodies the values and character of the Northwestern football family.
Porter, who was also a captain in 2023 and 2024, has totaled 2,173 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns in his career, including a career-high six rushing scores last season. The running back from Cincinnati, Ohio, recorded five rushing touchdowns over a four-game stretch last season, which included two scores and a season-high 94 rushing yards against Duke. He was elected by his teammates to wear the No. 1 jersey in 2024.
Tiernan started every game in each of the last two seasons at left tackle and has appeared in 36 of NU's 37 games over the last three seasons. Last year, he earned an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in his redshirt junior season, along with Academic All-Big Ten and CSC Academic All-District honors. He posted an 82.3 PFF grade on the season, ranking fifth among tackles in the Big Ten. His 88.9 pass block grade also ranked sixth among tackles in the country and second in the Big Ten. In the last six games of the season, he allowed just one sack.
Stone comes to Evanston after four years at SMU. The graduate quarterback played in nine games during his first two seasons as a Mustang before becoming a full-time starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2023. That year, he recorded the fourth-most passing yards (3,197), the third-most touchdown passes (28) and the highest passing efficiency (161.3) in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) en route to an All-AAC Third-Team selection. During his record year, he was in the top 15 in several FBS categories, including passing yards per completion (No. 5), passing touchdowns (No. 11) and passing efficiency (No. 13). He also threw for over 300 yards in four games and was a three-time AAC Offensive Player of the Week. After a 371-yard, three-touchdown performance against Tulsa in October of 2023, he was selected as the CFPA National Performer of the Week and the Manning Award Star of the Week.
Uihlein received an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention last year following his redshirt junior season with the Wildcats in which he appeared in 12 games. He logged a team-high 85 tackles (No. 9 in the Big Ten), four tackles for loss, two sacks, a pass breakup, and one forced fumble. In the Wildcats' 37-10 win over Maryland, he posted a career-high 13 tackles with a pass defended and forced fumble.
The Wildcats will open their 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 as they travel to New Orleans to face off against Tulane at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.
Porter is just the second three-time captain in program history, joining Paddy Fisher on the exclusive list. Bastone is also the 20th multi-year captain in Wildcat football history.
Since joining the program as a preferred walk-on in 2021, Bastone has solidified himself as a core piece of the locker room and a mainstay on the defensive line. He first saw the field in 2022 as a redshirt first-year, appearing in six games, before becoming a key contributor in 2023 and a team captain in 2024. He returns to Evanston this fall and was recently honored with the No. 1 jersey for his final season. Considered the highest honor in the program, the No. 1 jersey recognizes the student-athlete who best embodies the values and character of the Northwestern football family.
Porter, who was also a captain in 2023 and 2024, has totaled 2,173 yards from scrimmage and 18 touchdowns in his career, including a career-high six rushing scores last season. The running back from Cincinnati, Ohio, recorded five rushing touchdowns over a four-game stretch last season, which included two scores and a season-high 94 rushing yards against Duke. He was elected by his teammates to wear the No. 1 jersey in 2024.
Tiernan started every game in each of the last two seasons at left tackle and has appeared in 36 of NU's 37 games over the last three seasons. Last year, he earned an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention in his redshirt junior season, along with Academic All-Big Ten and CSC Academic All-District honors. He posted an 82.3 PFF grade on the season, ranking fifth among tackles in the Big Ten. His 88.9 pass block grade also ranked sixth among tackles in the country and second in the Big Ten. In the last six games of the season, he allowed just one sack.
Stone comes to Evanston after four years at SMU. The graduate quarterback played in nine games during his first two seasons as a Mustang before becoming a full-time starter as a redshirt sophomore in 2023. That year, he recorded the fourth-most passing yards (3,197), the third-most touchdown passes (28) and the highest passing efficiency (161.3) in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) en route to an All-AAC Third-Team selection. During his record year, he was in the top 15 in several FBS categories, including passing yards per completion (No. 5), passing touchdowns (No. 11) and passing efficiency (No. 13). He also threw for over 300 yards in four games and was a three-time AAC Offensive Player of the Week. After a 371-yard, three-touchdown performance against Tulsa in October of 2023, he was selected as the CFPA National Performer of the Week and the Manning Award Star of the Week.
Uihlein received an All-Big Ten Honorable Mention last year following his redshirt junior season with the Wildcats in which he appeared in 12 games. He logged a team-high 85 tackles (No. 9 in the Big Ten), four tackles for loss, two sacks, a pass breakup, and one forced fumble. In the Wildcats' 37-10 win over Maryland, he posted a career-high 13 tackles with a pass defended and forced fumble.
The Wildcats will open their 2025 season on Saturday, Aug. 30 as they travel to New Orleans to face off against Tulane at 11 a.m. CT on ESPNU.
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