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Ked's Recruiting Roundup: How Does Illinois Men's Basketball Roster Stack Up in the Big Ten?

Ked's Recruiting Roundup: How Does Illinois Men's Basketball Roster Stack Up in the Big Ten?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

May 4, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Depending on who you ask, the 2025-26 Illinois men's basketball roster might be finalized. Still, others feel it’s only early May, and the Illini have a history of adding star players late in the offseason.

But for now, let’s dive into the current roster and evaluate where Illinois stands compared to the rest of the Big Ten Conference.

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Illini DB Tyler Strain Withdraws From Post-Spring Transfer Portal

Illini DB Tyler Strain Withdraws From Post-Spring Transfer Portal

Illinois veteran defensive back Tyler Strain will be returning to the 2025 roster after investigating transfer options.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

May 2, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Tyler Strain will not be playing his final year of eligibility elsewhere.

Within the back-and-forth movement of the Illinois roster in this post-spring transfer portal window, the veteran defensive back has elected to return to Bret Bielema’s Illini roster for the 2025 season after initially entering the transfer portal to gauge interest in his services outside of Champaign-Urbana.

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Football Recruiting Spotlight on Nathan Knapik

Football Recruiting Spotlight on Nathan Knapik

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 2, 2025

Not that the Illinois recruiting budget is suffering with a surge of fan support, not to mention the influx of CFP money, but hat's off to Bret Bielema for saving recruiting money by adding yet another brother of an Illinois player under Bielema (that makes 7!).  Nathan Knapik, who played only 23 snaps for Idaho in his redshirt freshman campaign last year, is joining his brother Ayden in transferring to the Illini from Idaho.  Ayden was an all-conference player in his last year at Idaho, but Nathan is largely an unknown so when Coach Bielema offered him a spot it was largely... based on Ayden.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

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Football Recruiting Spotlight on Tyler McMillan

Football Recruiting Spotlight on Tyler McMillan

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst May 1, […]

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IlliniGuys Goes One-on-One with Future Star Illinois Wing Andrej Stojakovic

IlliniGuys Goes One-on-One with Future Star Illinois Wing Andrej Stojakovic

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

April 30, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Once again, Illinois men’s head basketball coach Brad Underwood has caught the attention of local and national college basketball analysts, gurus and sports commentators this week.

One of those analysts, The Field of 68’s Jeff Goodman, referenced recent commit Andrej Stojakovic during a podcast, saying, “Stojakovic is a guy who gives Illinois a scorer on the perimeter that they desperately needed. It's fascinating to see the experiment that Brad Underwood has put together in Champaign. You would have thought he would have been the last coach on the planet who would have gone this route. He's gone all in with international guys. We know Illinois will be fun to watch, we know they're going to score, but can they guard?”

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Field is Set For First-Ever NCAA Regional at Urbana's Atkins Golf Club

Field is Set For First-Ever NCAA Regional at Urbana's Atkins Golf Club

(From Illinois Sports Information Office) CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Fighting […]

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Why ‘it’s not an accident’ Denver’s Football Bosses Elected To Pick Illini WR Pat Bryant

Why ‘it’s not an accident’ Denver’s Football Bosses Elected To Pick Illini WR Pat Bryant

Pat Bryant’s “traits” all led to the former Illini wide receiver being the perfect player to grab in the third round of the 2025 National Football League draft this weekend.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

April 29, 2025

Several reasons can be cited for how Pat Bryant became the perfect candidate to be drafted earlier than most, if not all, draft analysts had the former Illinois wide receiver hearing his name called in the draft this past weekend.

Pretty much all of those reasons center around the idea that the two highest ranking football people inside the Denver Broncos facility (general manager George Paton and head coach Sean Payton) are in philosophically in sync on an old-school gut check way of scouting and evaluating prospects.

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News: Illini Officials Confirm Ben Humrichous Will Return to 2025-26 Roster

News: Illini Officials Confirm Ben Humrichous Will Return to 2025-26 Roster

Ben Humrichous will be fifth active player and sixth […]

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Sturdy: Illini Roster Is Ready

Sturdy: Illini Roster Is Ready

By Brad Sturdy - IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst & Co-Host, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

April 28, 2025

The Illini added their top target in the portal Andrej Stojakovic on Monday when he chose Illinois over North Carolina for his junior season. With the roster now essentially set, here’s a look at what they have and where there may be some holes still.

There is no question that this team is older than a year ago, and they are more physically imposing in the frontcourt. Depth up front is greater than it has been in a long time and they have 3 bonafide playmakers on the perimeter. Here’s a look at each position.

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Ked's Recruiting Roundup:  Illinois Football Adds UNI  DL Transfer Carter Hewitt

Ked's Recruiting Roundup: Illinois Football Adds UNI DL Transfer Carter Hewitt

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

April 28, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois football continues working the transfer portal to fill needs, and on Sunday the Illini landed a commitment from Northern Iowa transfer Carter Hewitt to beef up their defensive line play.

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News: Former Cal Scoring Forward Andrej Stojaković Commits to Illini For 2025-26 Season

News: Former Cal Scoring Forward Andrej Stojaković Commits to Illini For 2025-26 Season

The eldest son of former All-NBA sharpshooter Peja Stojaković […]

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Heat Checks & Hail Marys – NFL & NBA Draft Changes & Illini Basketball Thoughts

Heat Checks & Hail Marys – NFL & NBA Draft Changes & Illini Basketball Thoughts

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular April 28, 2025 This […]

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“We didn’t deserve to win”: Illini Men’s Golf Don’t Hold 6-Shot Lead in Big Ten Championships

“We didn’t deserve to win”: Illini Men’s Golf Don’t Hold 6-Shot Lead in Big Ten Championships

UCLA overtakes the Illini from an eight-shot deficit to […]

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Five-Star Recruit Berry Wallace Lived Up To Her Status This Past Season

Five-Star Recruit Berry Wallace Lived Up To Her Status This Past Season

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – From the moment Shauna Green took over the Illinois women’s basketball program, she leaned into her recruiting ties, particularly from her days at Dayton. One of the most significant early results of that effort was the commitment of five-star forward Berry Wallace who she kept close tabs on.

While recruiting rankings often serve as coffee talk and message board speculation, Wallace, a 6-foot-1 forward from Pickerington, Ohio, more than validated the hype during her freshman season.

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Freshman Duo Maintain Illini Men’s Golf’s Lead in Big Ten Championships

Freshman Duo Maintain Illini Men’s Golf’s Lead in Big Ten Championships

After two days of competition, Illinois is in a […]

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