Will Hornseth woke up March 30 to a text message from his parents that included a screen shot they saw on social media.
That’s how the former De Pere basketball star learned that Ben Jacobson, his coach for the past two seasons at Northern Iowa, was leaving to take the Utah State job.
“I was pretty confused,” Hornseth said. “He has been here for 20 years as a head coach, so it’s not something you think about that is going to happen. It was definitely surprising, and I was a little bit in denial for probably that day. I was like, is this really happening?”
The news leaked before Jacobson could meet with his team later that day, but it was true.
He was going out west after winning 397 games and leading the Panthers to the NCAA Tournament five times since being hired in 2006.
Jacobson always will have a connection to the Green Bay area after he recruited the Ashwaubenon duo of Adam Koch and Jake Koch in his first years on the job before eventually landing their younger brother, Bennett.
Adam and Jake were part of UNI’s best run in the NCAAs in March 2010 when it reached its only Sweet 16 after a memorable upset over top-seeded Kansas that made the brothers rock stars in Cedar Falls.
The Jacobson era lasted so long that it’s no wonder Hornseth never pondered the possibility he’d depart during his collegiate career.
It left the 6-foot-8, 230-pound forward with more questions than answers in the short time after the announcement.
Would Jacobson want his big man to follow him to Utah State? Did he even have his spot at UNI with a new coach in Kyle Green coming in? Is he going to end up at some school other than one of those two?
“I was really in a place where I didn’t know what was going to happen,” Hornseth said.
It was somewhat like being thrown back into the recruiting mix in high school, when he had several offers but had to figure out what place was best for him.
“Kind of similar and kind of different,” Hornseth said. “At first, it felt very similar. A really hard decision. Don’t know what I’m going to do. As I kind of worked my way through it, I realized that I was probably going to have a good spot no matter where I went.
“Once I was able to talk to Coach Jacobson and he was able to say that he wanted me to follow him to Utah State, and once I was able to talk to KG here, the new head coach, and they said they’d love to have me stay, I was like, alright, I’ve got two really great options here and I know either way I’m going to be in a good spot.”
When Hornseth entered his name in the portal, he also put a “do not contact” tag on it. It prevents coaches from initiating contact and often suggests a player already knows where they are going.
Indeed, Hornseth was confident he was headed to Utah State.
There was a moment when he pondered the possibilities of returning closer to home, perhaps playing at a school like Wisconsin.
“I love my family, I love De Pere, I love Wisconsin in general,” Hornseth said. “It would have been cool. There is a split second there, and then I realized, I can’t. I have got to do my own thing and stick with either the school or my coach. Obviously, I chose my coach.”
Will Hornseth puts trust in his coach during NIL process
In the NIL world of college basketball, there are other factors that must be considered before committing.
Hornseth doesn’t have an agent or attorney to do his negotiating, which he admits is probably an interesting decision. It’s just the way he has rolled since entering college and it’s worked out well.
His circle of advisers really comes down to his parents, girlfriend and the coaches he is speaking with during the recruiting process.
But there is money at stake, and although a deal between a player and school is not made public, it is safe to assume Hornseth will make a significant amount during his career at Utah State. In many ways, a life-changing amount.
“The way we go about it, at least with me and Coach Jacobson, is we just approach it from a respectful, good faith, we both have each other’s interest at heart,” Hornseth said. “We both have the team’s interest. We just kind of try to approach it from a respectful place and figure it out. I’m not trying to do this to squeeze out as much money as I can. I’m here to play basketball, and the other deals and stuff are great benefits and I’m super grateful for those.
“We just approached it to have a conversation and, hopefully, make a fair deal. I trust that Coach is going to have my best interests and shoot me an offer that is good for me.”
Hornseth did consider having a family friend who is an attorney look at the contract.
But he and his father went over it, and along with Hornseth’s trust in Jacobson, there was no need to do anything but sign on the dotted line.
“For most people, I would probably say get an agent, because it’s the smart thing to do,” Hornseth said. “I think I’m a little unconventional. When I first started college, it was less of an NIL thing. It was there, but it has grown so much in the last two years. I would advise people to do that, just to make sure everything is good and you are getting what you can out of it and you are maximizing your potential.
“But I also think there should be an emphasis on relationships still. Not just basketball being a transaction thing and a job. It should also be a relationship with the coaches and the school. If you approach it from that sense, you are probably less likely to need an agent because it’s not a transaction for money anymore.”
Hornseth has always been a well-adjusted person, even back in high school. He has a lot of different interests and talents.
Still, as a junior in college next season, he will be earning more money than many in the workplace do in years.
That must be difficult to keep in perspective, right?
“It still doesn’t feel real,” Hornseth said. “I’m so incredibly grateful and lucky to be in a situation that I am. When I first started getting recruited, I was super excited. I was like, I’m going to get on a scholarship and go to college for free. Now, I’m like, I’m getting enough money to set up my life, to set up my future for my family. Accomplish these goals that I want to accomplish.
“That has been pretty mind-blowing. Again, it really hasn’t set in, the way that I’m going to be able to support my family and support myself in the future with what is going on with the NIL stuff.”
Will Hornseth shines during sophomore season
Everything happening off the court is because of what Hornseth has done on it.
He had a breakout sophomore season in 2025-26 after a promising freshman year, helping the Panthers reach the Big Dance for the first time in a decade.
Hornseth started all 35 games for UNI after playing 33 games and starting one his first year.
He averaged 11.1 points, 4.6 rebounds and 2.2 assists while shooting a team-high 60.1%. It is the eighth-best single-season shooting percentage in program history.
Hornseth scored double digits 24 times, including a career-high 21 against Evansville in January.
UNI entered the Missouri Valley Conference tournament as a No. 6 seed.
It went on a remarkable run, becoming the lowest seed in conference history to win the tournament title and the first to win four games in four days after beating Illinois-Chicago in the championship.
Hornseth scored 10 points and made all four of his shot attempts in the victory.
“We knew it had never been done before, and we knew we were the team that was capable of doing it,” Hornseth said. “You go in and you are not 100 percent sure you are going to win every game. That’s not realistic, but as a team, we were very confident in our abilities. If we executed what we needed to, if we executed the things we listed for four in four days, that we would be able to make history.”
Hornseth played a big role as a junior on one of the best high school boys basketball teams in state history when De Pere won the WIAA Division 1 title in 2023 to put the finishing touches on a perfect 30-0 season.
Getting the opportunity to play in the NCAA Tournament was just as memorable.
Despite losing to No. 5 seed St. John’s in the first round, it was a great way to end his career at UNI.
He now will play for a school that has made the NCAAs each of the last three years and will attempt to do it again with Hornseth and his coach helping lead the way.
“It was super surreal,” Hornseth said. “It was pretty incredible to be running down the court and look down and see the March Madness logo. That was probably the most surreal part.
“Coming from De Pere, winning that state championship, it almost had a similar feel. Like, wow, we are doing what we wanted to do since I was a kid. That was super cool to be able to realize those dreams that as a kid you didn’t really think was possible, but now you are doing them. It’s pretty incredible.”
This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: Former De Pere basketball star Will Hornseth talks about transfer decision
Reporting by Scott Venci, Green Bay Press-Gazette / Green Bay Press-Gazette
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
