By IlliniGuys Staff

April 11, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - In a widely-anticipated move, Illinois All-American Keaton Wagler announced today that he is entering his name into the 2026 NBA Draft.

Wagler has been in the top 10 of every mock NBA Draft list since his breakout performance on January 24th, when he scored 46 points in a win at Purdue. It was the most points ever scored by a Big Ten freshman and the most ever scored on the road against a team ranked in the Associated Press top 10 (the Boilers were 5th in the nation at the time), setting a Mackey Arena record for a visitor. Some mocks have Wagler as high as the 5th pick and the first guard to be taken.

The Shawnee, Kansas native arrived on campus expecting to avoid a redshirt and compete for playing time, but impressed coaches and teammates during summer workouts. Senior guard Kylan Boswell famously telling coaches that he was "cold".

Wagler earned a spot in the starting lineup and the Illini fortunes turned when coach Brad Underwood elected to move him to the point to direct the team's offense. Illinois won 14 of their next 15 games, including 12 in a row. Wagler never scored in single digits again, hitting 10 points or more in 29 consecutive games.  He  followed up the Purdue performance with a 28-point effort at Nebraska in which he scored 23 in the second half to lead the Illini to a come-from-behind win against the then-5th ranked Huskers. He went for 34 points in an overtime loss to Wisconsin on February 10th.

Free of the clutch-and-grab style of the Big Ten, Wagler was brilliant in the NCAA tournament. He scored a game-high 25 points against Iowa to secure the Illini's spot in their first Final Four in 21 years, winning NCAA South Region Most Outstanding Player for his performance. Wagler led Illinois in scoring once again with 20 points in the national semifinal loss to UConn last Saturday in Indianapolis.

The MOP award was one of several Wagler collected. He was named an All-American by every major outlet, the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, and first team All-Big Ten. He won the Jerry West Award as the nation's best shooting guard.

Wagler led the Illini in scoring with 17.9 points per game while averaging 5.1 rebounds and 4.2 assists and shot 40 percent from three-point range. He scored 20 points or more 11 times on the way to shattering the Illini freshman scoring record held by Cory Bradford and Kasparas Jakucionis, his 663 points sitting as the third best total in school history.

IlliniGuys analysts have reported all season how NBA scouts fell in love with his game, with a few literally setting up camp in Champaign and attending every practice and game. Here's what Bleacher Report says about Wagler's game, comparing him to Denver's star guard Jamal Murray:

Wagler and his family had talked with the Illinois coaches this week about the possibility of returning for another season with the Illini.  Both Brad Sturdy and Kedric Prince of IlliniGuys have reported that he enjoyed his freshman year and he and his family were open to a return to Illinois for his sophomore year and continuing to mature physically. But the prospect of injury and what is likely to be a guaranteed $30 million contract were certainly factors in what appears to be his final decision.

The Illini coaching staff have been preparing for this possibility. 4-star commit Quentin Coleman will compete for playing time at point guard and Wisconsin transfer John Blackwell will meet with Underwood and the Illinois staff on Monday as he considers his options for his final collegiate season.

More on the Wagler decision and what's next for the Illini right now from our insiders on the IlliniGuys' premium message boards.

https://illiniguys.com/forum/forums/basketball-discussion.1648/