2026 Offseason in Review

Since the addition of NIL into college basketball, the offseason has never been the same. The transfer portal has run rampant, and coaches across America are left scrambling around for roster acquisitions. Coaching staffs no longer have time to fixate and relax directly after the postseason. It is often the most stressful time in the sport. All things considered, the 2026 offseason for Illinois was calming. While there still may be a depth piece add from Europe later this summer, the bulk of Illinois' 2026-2027 roster is set, so it's time to recap what Brad Underwood and the Illini have in store for next season.

The main goal for Illinois entering this offseason was retention. Fresh off a Final Four appearance, everyone wanted to see Illinois run it back. The message was pretty simple: if you have eligibility, we would love to welcome you back for another year. Kylan Boswell and Ben Humrichous were the only Illini in the rotation that exhausted their eligibility, but everyone else received an open invitation to return. Illinois' All-American guard Keaton Wagler was reportedly considering a second year, but ultimately, a projected to be a top 10 pick in the NBA Draft in June can't risk returning and potentially damage his draft stock due to injury or other unforeseen events. Maybe in an alternate universe, Wagler returns for year two, but we knew since January that Wagler was headed to the league as he should. So, Illinois lost its starting backcourt, and a bench forward from its rotation. The Illini also lost fan favorite Ty Rodgers, who missed two straight seasons with a redshirt year and an injury. Brandon Lee also hit the portal after playing sparingly his freshman season. Obviously, Illinois has work replacing those guys, but in today's age that is not too much production to fill.

Of Illinois' eight-man rotation, five of them announced their return. David Mirkovic was the first domino to fall when he announced his return on Twitch in the middle of April. Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, Jake Davis, and Andrej Stojakovic all announced their returns in the next two days, building the hype for what's to come in 2027. Stojakovic also declared for the NBA Draft causing some fans to panic for a little, but it sounded like he was just testing the waters and receiving feedback. Andrej was a projected as a second-round pick, meaning he would earn more money at Illinois. Since you get one free NBA Draft process before you have to stay in the draft, it made sense for Stojakovic to go through the process to help him prepare for the 2027 draft. On Wednesday, Stojakovic officially cemented his return to Champaign after taking his name out of the NBA Draft. Andrej also posted a video on social media and in it said, "my heart led me back to Illinois"

Illinois still needed to account for the losses in its backcourt. The Illini went out and got composite 5-star freshman Quentin Coleman. Coleman is a 6'4 combo guard, who will have lofty expectations as a rising prospect. Coleman was committed to Wake Forest but reopened his commitment after a Missouri State Title run. Illinois quickly laid out their recruiting pitch and recieved his comittment right after the South Regional Title game. Coleman was named the MVP at Iverson Classic, a high school all-star game. Most recently, Quentin was named the United States U18 team that will compete in the FIBA U18 AmeriCup. Coleman will join Ayo Dosunmu, Ty Rodgers, and Morez Johnson as incoming freshman to earn that honor. Coleman has had a meteoric rise up the recruiting ranks these last two years. 247 sports recently updated their rankings and has him as the 13th ranked player in the 2026 recruiting class. This makes Coleman the second-best recruit Illinois has landed in the modern recruiting era right behind Will Riley in 2024. Coleman provides instant offense for Illinois, and Underwood believes he can mold him into a solid defender.

While Illinois was heavily reported to be in the John Blackwell sweepstakes, Illinois quietly landed one of the best players in the portal. Stefan Vaaks is a 6'7 rising sophomore from Providence, where he averaged 16 points per game last season. Vaaks is originally from Estonia, so Illinois' European Influence from the Balkans have officially made its way to the Baltic region. I've personally been seeing too many people saying that Illinois does not have a true ballhandler, but Vaaks will be that guy for Illinois in my opinion. He was incredible in ball screen actions last season, and that was without any bigs who spaced the floor. With the Ivisics' and Mirkovic, the court will be open with their ability to pick and pop. Vaaks seems like such a great fit for this team just on that alone. He can also create for himself and has knack to make some shots with a high degree of difficulty like a Bennett Stirtz does.

Scoring the ball is not going to be a concern for this group. If anything causes issues, it will be the defense that plagues them. Andrej Stojakovic is the only real proven great defender on the perimeter. We have seen Illinois find a way to play their best defense in the postseason in 2024 and 2026 when those same concerns were present all season. So, I am hoping we see something similar again next year. Vaaks and Coleman are going to need to grow on that end for Illinois to win a National Championship. I think Vaaks has an opportunity to get better on that end. Providence was a difunctionally ran team last season. I wonder how much playing on a bad team contributes to poor individual defense in this case. We had similar conversations with Andrej Stojakovic last offseason, and he clearly improved his defense throughout the season. Vaaks has the positional size Underwood loves and a change of scenery may untap some potential. It's also worth noting that having assistant coach Camryn Crocker back with more experience is a good thing. Illinois played its best defense late in the season and Crocker's schemes were huge in that, most notably in the Sweet 16 game against Houston.

Coleman and Vaaks were the headline additions for this program, but Illinois also landed more freshman that should not be slept on. Lucas Morillo is a top 50 recruit that has become overlooked. He played in the Nike Hoops Summit where some of the top domestic and foreign high school aged talents play in a game. David Mirkovic played in the event last year, so it is quite a big deal. Morillo is a bigger guard who should carve out a hefty role off the bench for Illinois.

The 2026 prep recruiting class rounds out with Ethan Brown, Zavier Zens, and Landon Davis. Of those three, Ethan Brown is most likely to make an instant impact with his athleticism. But as a reminder, we were talking about Keaton Wagler in the same way last summer, so maybe one of these three makes a bigger impact early than we all anticipate. I'm not saying any of them are going to turn into All-Americans, but I wouldn't be stunned if one of them find their way into the rotation after a full offseason of summer workouts and fall practices.

If I were to grade the 2026 offseason, I would it give it an A. The only thing holding it back from being an A+ is the fact there was the possibility of adding John Blackwell in addition to everyone else. That will be a what if, but regardless, this was a fantastic offseason for Illinois. I am not sure how much more you could ask for coming off a Final Four appearance. The Illini retained key players, coaches, and added one of the best transfers in the country along with a great and deep freshman class.

Illinois is going to find themselves in the preseason top 10 come October, and I imagine it will be closer to 1 than it will be to 10. The program is riding a huge wave of momentum, and this offseason further improves the expectations and excitement for what is to come. Illinois has put together another loaded non-conference slate. It will put these lofty expectations to test early in the season. Illinois will play UConn in Chicago, Duke in Durham, Texas Tech in Lubbock, Missouri in the annual Braggin' Rights game, and at least one more marquee matchup that has yet to be announced. Welcome to the golden age of Illinois Basketball.