A bit of a surprising move from David Braun.
Northwestern landed Virginia transfer quarterback Gavin Frakes from the transfer portal on Wednesday, June 25 in a move to shore up its quarterback room behind presumptive Week One starter Preston Stone.
Frakes, a native of Norman, Oklahoma, was committed to his hometown Sooners in the portal before flipping to the ‘Cats on Wednesday afternoon. He joins a crowded quarterback room that includes last year’s starter Jack Lausch and redshirt first-year Ryan Boe, in addition to Stone. Frakes comes to Evanston with two years of eligibility remaining.
The former Cavalier didn’t see the field in his two season in Virgina, though he started five games as a true freshman at New Mexico State. He was benched that season for Diego Pavia, who is now the starting quarterback at Vanderbilt and boasts a win over Alabama on his resume. Frakes was unranked out of high school by major recruiting sites and had committed to play for Princeton before flipping to the Aggies. His best game with New Mexico State came against in-state rival New Mexico, where he threw for 119 yards and 2 touchdowns at the helm of a run-heavy Aggie offense in a 21-9 victory. Frakes also ran for 78 yards and a touchdown on 6 carries as the staring quarterback in a 45-26 win over Hawaii.
A quick scan of some Youtube highlights reveals some legit arm talent and mobility from the Oklahoma native.
Based on experience alone, Frakes does not appear to be a threat to Stone to start against Tulane on Aug. 31. Stone threw for 3,197 yards, 28 touchdowns and just six interceptions as a redshirt sophomore at SMU; Frakes totaled 736 yards, four touchdowns and seven picks in his lone season with the Aggies.
Braun’s decision to add Frakes comes amidst some speculation that Lausch, who as of now is Northwestern’s QB2 behind Stone, could be selected in the upcoming MLB Draft. On3’s Pete Nakos followed up his announcement of Frakes’ commitment to the ‘Cats with a note that Lausch was on a few teams’ radars ahead of the draft in July. The center fielder is also playing for the Williamsport Crosscutters in the MLB Draft League this summer, per Pennlive.com.
The junior center fielder put up a .268 average with 6 home runs and a .795 OPS in his first season playing baseball since high school. After his averaged dipped to .195 following a Mar. 28 win over Maryland, Lausch hit .387 over the remaining two months of the season. He finished fourth on the team in both batting average and OPS.
Northwestern QB Jack Lausch, who is also a center fielder for the Wildcats, has a legitimate shot to be taken in this summer’s MLB draft. https://t.co/t19PKNCWIC
— Pete Nakos (@PeteNakos_) June 25, 2025
If Lausch does decide to pursue professional baseball, Frakes would be left as the most experienced backup on the roster. Boe is the only other quarterback outside Lausch with game experience. He appeared in one game as a true freshman in 2024, finishing 4-for-13 with 42 yards and a pick in Northwestern’s 38-28 loss to Illinois.
Frakes also gives Northwestern some additional in-house talent to compete for the 2026 starting job after Stone graduates next spring. Northwestern has not started a quarterback in Week One who was on its roster the year prior since TJ Green in 2019.