Brad Underwood Has SomeRecruiting To Do
Illinois is coming off one of its best seasons under 10th-year head coach Brad Underwood. The Illini went 28-8, including 15 Big Ten wins, and reached the Final Four for the first time since 2004-05. It was their sixth straight NCAA Tournament appearance.
Underwood has done a fabulous job rebranding the Illini. Before this run, the Illini missed the NCAA Tournament seven consecutive seasons, though they were projected to receive a bid in 2020 before COVID hit. Underwood is 193-110 with one Big Ten regular-season title and two conference tournament crowns.
However, Underwood now has to replace two starters and one key reserve as Kylan Boswell and Ben Hurichous exhausted their eligibility. Underwood carried 15 players this past season, but with the departures, the Illini currently have nine players, not including incoming freshmen, though there could be more movement. Players have until April 21 to enter the transfer portal. Three of the nine projected returnees saw sparse action this past year.
“Brad Underwood put together a great team this past season,” Reese Woodcock of WritingIllini said recently. “Underwood has mastered the transfer portal and roster turnover. Throughout the Underwood era, Illinois has landed some solid transfer portal talent. This offseason cycle could be on a different level, though.”
While Underwood has to replace his starting backcourt, he projects to have four of his top-5 frontcourt players. Underwood has not signed a transfer, though he has signed four players in his 2026 recruiting class. Consensus four-star prospects. 6-4 guard Quentin Coleman (St. Louis, Mo.) and 6-6 guard Lucas Morillo (Dominican Republic) are the Illini’s top recruits. Six-four guard Ethan Brown (Rolla, Mo.) and 6-8 forward Landon Davis (Waukee, IA) are the other two players in the class. Coleman is the only one of the four to have not yet signed.
What Is Left For Underwood To Do?
While Underwood has secured the commitment of two highly touted guards, he will likely have to add one or two veterans to help keep the Illini as contenders. Underwood could add another wing or frontcourt player via the transfer market or incoming freshman.
One of the Illini’s top targets, per 247Sports, Travis Branham, is Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell. Branham said that Duke and Illinois are Blackwell’s top suitors, though Alabama, Arizona, UCLA, and Louisville are also believed still involved. He is expected to take two visits before committing on May 4.
“Finally, we get to Illinois. There’s the family connection – father, Glynn [Blackwell], played four years at Illinois – but more importantly, it’s a dream fit from a basketball perspective,” Jackson Langendorf of The Fighting Illini said,d talking about Blackwell and the Illini fit.”There are few systems better-tailored to allow a guard’s game to thrive. And considering Blackwell played the Illini twice, he likely recognizes that. Guards come to Champaign and see their NBA stock climb.”
Another name that keeps popping up in the Illini recruiting circle, according to Pleas Honeywood of Writing Illini, is Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks. Vaaks is a big guard who had an outstanding freshman campaign, averaging 15.8 points and 3.2 assists along with an effective field goal percentage of 52.2%.
