Three Illini Draw All-Big Ten Honors

(From Illinois Sports Information Office)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– The 2025 All-Big Ten teams and individual award winners were announced on Tuesday by the conference office, as well as Big Ten accolades from the Associated Press.

Freshman point guard Kasparas Jakucionis (Vilnius, Lithuania) is a second-team All-Big Ten selection by the AP, third-team All-Big Ten pick by the league coaches and media, and earned a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. He leads the Illini in scoring and assists, averaging 15.2 ppg and 4.8 apg, and is third on the team in rebounding at 5.6 rpg. Jakucionis is on pace for the third-highest scoring average and fourth-highest assist average by an Illini freshman, and he has set the UI rookie season record with eight 20-point games to date.

Jakucionis becomes the fifth Illini of the Brad Underwood era to earn a spot on the Big Ten All-Freshman Team, joining Trent Frazier (2018), Ayo Dosunmu (2019), Kofi Cockburn (2020) and Andre Curbelo (2021).

Freshman forward Will Riley (Kitchener, Ontario, Canada) is the Big Ten Sixth Man of the Year, selected by the conference coaches after averaging 12.2 points, 3.9 rebounds and 2.3 assists. He was the Illini's second-leading scorer during league play and registered double figures in 10 of the final 11 regular season games, averaging 16.0 ppg during that stretch with three 20-point performances. Riley is the second Illini to be voted Sixth Man of the Year, following Curbelo in 2021.

Sophomore Tomislav Ivisic (Vodice, Croatia) is the third Illini newcomer to earn accolades, voted honorable mention All-Big Ten by the media. Ivisic is the team's second-leading scorer and leading rebounder, averaging 12.6 points and 7.6 rebounds. He also leads the Illini with nine double-doubles and 31 blocked shots and is shooting 50% from the field on the season.

Underwood now has 19 All-Big Ten selections during his eight-year Illinois tenure: seven on first team, two on second team, four on third team and six honorable mention.

Graduate student Ben Humrichous (Tipton, Indiana) was recognized as Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.

These players have helped lead Illinois to its current No. 24 ranking, 20-11 overall record, and sixth-straight 20-win season. The Illini are one of only four teams nationally to record 20-win regular seasons in each of the last six years, joined by Gonzaga, Houston, and San Diego State. Illinois also is the winningest team in Big Ten play over the last six seasons, tied with Purdue.

Defending Big Ten Tournament Champion Illinois is this year's No. 7 seed and opens play in Thursday's second round, facing the winner of Ohio State vs. Iowa at 5:30 p.m. CT on BTN.

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