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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCIA) – Enthusiastic Illini fans are closely monitoring the shifts within the Illinois men’s basketball roster during the 2026 offseason, eager to see who will join, depart, or remain with the team.
After Illinois reached the Final Four for the first time since 2005, head coach Brad Underwood conveyed a straightforward message to his players.
“Please come back, let’s go do this again,” Underwood expressed in Indianapolis, following the team’s 71-62 defeat against UConn.
Now, the focus is on recruitment and retaining key players as they prepare for the next season.
Editor’s Note: This article was published and last updated at 11 p.m. on Thursday, April 16. Further updates will be provided as additional details emerge.
RETURNERS
Illinois has officially confirmed the return of four players from its 2025-26 roster.
David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic and Jake Davis will all be back for the 2026-27 season.
Mirkovic was third on the team in scoring, as freshman, with 13.3 points per game.
All four of the known returners played more than 17 minutes per game on average during the 2025-26 season.
DEPARTURES
Illinois is expected to lose at least seven players from its 2026 Final Four team. There are three different categories of players leaving.
Graduates: Ben Humrichous, Kylan Boswell and AJ Redd have all exhausted their college eligibility.
Transfer portal departures: Mihailo Petrovic, Toni Bilic and Ty Rodgers have all been reported to be entering the transfer portal
Going pro: Big Ten Freshman of the Year Keaton Wagler declared for the NBA Draft, calling it a tough decision.
ADDITIONS:
The Illini are currently slotted to bring in five new players for the 2026-27 season, although that number can grow to fill the 15 player roster limit.
Similar to the departures, there are a couple different ways Brad Underwood is bringing in talent.
High school commits: Illinois has four high school players committed from the class of 2026. Lucas Morillo, Ethan Brown and Landon Davis are all signed. Quentin Coleman, a four-star prospect from Missouri, committed more recently and his signing has not been announced by Illinois Athletics.
Transfer portal commitments: The Illini have landed just one player from the portal so far in the 2026 cycle, but it’s a significant pick up. Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks will come to Champaign after scoring 15.8 points per game as a freshman with the Friars.
UNKNOWNS
There are four players from the Illinois team which made a postseason trip to Indianapolis in 2026 who are yet to have announced plans/been reported to be staying or leaving.
Andrej Stojakovic is the biggest name in this bunch. He scored 13.5 points per game in his first year in Champaign, as a junior, and previously made stops at California and Stanford.
Additionally, Illinois Athletics, nor major outlets, have reported on the future of Jason Jakstys, Brandon Lee or Blake Fagbemi.
Fagbemi, who came to Illinois widely assumed to be in a ‘walk-on’ style role, is seemingly unlikely to leave.
Jakstys had his sophomore season cut short due to injury after redshirting as a true freshman. Lee appeared in 18 games as a freshman, playing 4.1 minutes per game.
RECRUITS
There are two names, at this time, which Illinois has been widely linked to in recruiting for the 2026 cycle.
The first is Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell. He scored 19.1 points per game for the Badgers as a junior in 2025-26, and is reported to have been in connection with Duke, Illinois, Louisville, UCLA and others since entering the portal.
His dad, Glynn Blackwell, played at Illinois in the 1980s.
Jonathan Givony of DraftExpress has reported that Blackwell will announce his commitment on May 4.
At the prep level, Illinois recently hosted Zavier Zens for a visit. He is a three-star prospect in the class of 2026 from Wisconsin. Zens was named Wisconsin Mr. Basketball as a senior, and is expected to pick between Illinois, Wisconsin and Utah State.
He was previously committed to Northern Iowa, and tells WCIA a commitment announcement could come as early as Friday, April 17.
SUMMARY:
Graduates: Kylan Boswell, Ben Humrichous, AJ Redd
Declared for NBA Draft: Keaton Wagler
Transfer departures: Ty Rodgers, Toni Bilic, Mihailo Petrovic
Transfer additions: Stefan Vaaks
High school additions: Lucas Morillo, Ethan Brown, Landon Davis, Quentin Coleman
Unknowns from 2025-26 roster: Andrej Stojakovic, Jason Jakstys, Brandon Lee, Blake Fagbemi*
Recruits: John Blackwell, Zavier Zens
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