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By IlliniGuys Staff

May 31, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

A couple of months ago - on the eve of Illinois' NCAA Regional semifinal matchup with Houston in its hometown, IlliniGuys co-founder and resident numbers nerd Larry Smith wrote a column about the Illini's entrance into the rarefied air of college basketball's elite programs.

https://illiniguys.com/illini-establish-spot-in-college-basketballs-new-elite/

That was then. But this is now.

Illinois' world has completely changed since then.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 30, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Joe Clark/IlliniGuys)

St. Laurence High School hasn't produced a lot of prominent football players since the days of Tim Grunhard and Stan Smagala, but when they do, those guys have gone to Illinois. Former walk-on Aaron Ball was a St. Laurence Viking, and Sean Rice recently committed to Illinois. So, that's 2 Division 1 players from St. Laurence, and two that went to Illinois. Rice is a 6'2 210 pounder who had offers from the middle of the Big Ten and early interest from Indiana.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?
Rice put together a junior season for the Vikings that doesn't seem possible:

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst

May 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy City of Palms)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. –Spring has become one of the busiest times on the basketball recruiting calendar, and Illinois continues to keep a close eye on some of the nation's top high school prospects.

The latest player to receive an Illinois scholarship offer is 2027 point guard Cayden Daughtry. The Illini extended an offer just days after Daughtry delivered a dominant performance on the Nike EYBL circuit.

For Illinois, offering Daughtry was an easy decision.

The 6-foot point guard from Calvary Christian Academy in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was recently named the Nike EYBL Session III MVP

IlliniGuys.com details which five players currently on the Illinois football roster could immediately benefit the most from an age-based eligibility model being passed.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

May 29, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN — Bret Bielema is closer to getting his wish with an age-based player eligibility policy.

As he enters his sixth season leading the Illinois football operation, Bielema has been publicly campaigning for what he calls a “five for five” policy for athlete eligibility for several years and the 56-year head coach might see that become NCAA legislation as soon as this coming month at the NCAA's Division I Cabinet meeting.

“I don’t think it’ll be called 5-for-5 even though that’s the easy way of describing it because it’ll actually be about when you graduate (high school) and when you have a window of time in,” Bielema said in a Zoom media session with local reporters on April 21. “I think it’ll be something that manifests itself before the start of the upcoming season.”

The model would give flexibility to currently enrolled athletes with eligibility after the 2025-26 academic year to apply the age-based model or continue previous eligibility rules, whichever is more beneficial to that individual.

“I think the NCAA, as many times as people think they’re falling on deaf ears, is an organization that is listening to common sense but it’s just a different world now,” Bielema said.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Sr. Recruiting Analyst May […]

By IlliniGuys Staff May 27, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

19-year-old Lana Brenjo, from a professional club team in Serbia, has signed a Big Ten Athletics Aid Agreement to play for Illinois in 2026-27 season.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 27, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Direkt Portal)

CHAMPAIGN — Shauna Green has watched her colleagues benefit from recruiting the Balkan State region of the world on the opposite side of the Ubben Basketball Complex and has decided to get in the game herself.

Illinois officially announced 19-year-old center Lana Brenjo has signed a Big Ten Athletics Aid Agreement to be a member of the Illini roster for the upcoming 2026-27 season. Fans should be familiar with the idea that just because Brenjo has signed roster paperwork does not mean she is currently in the United States or her student visa status has been officially processed but it is encouraging that Brenjo is represented by Miško Ražnatović, the agent for current Illinois men’s basketball players David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic, who has experience getting players in that region of the world cleared with the university and the federal government.

Ražnatović was the first to confirm the verbal pledge of Brenjo to the Illini on May 16 via a social media post on X.

By IlliniGuys Staff May 27, 2026 (Cover photo courtesy […]

By IlliniGuys Staff

May 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's Instagram page)

Next month, a scene will take place at the NBA Draft that's become very familiar:

A star, lanky Fighting Illini guard hearing his name called and taking center stage for pictures with NBA commissioner Adam Silver to begin his professional career.

6-foot-6 inch All-American guard Keaton Wagler will become the fifth such Illini to be drafted this decade. The projected lottery pick joining draftees Kasparas Jakucionis (6'6" guard to Miami in 2025), Will Riley (6'8" guard to Washington in 2025), Terrence Shannon Jr. (6-foot-7 wing to Minnesota in 2024) and Ayo Dosunmu (6'5" guard to Chicago). 

It's become a calling card for Brad Underwood's program and his staff is watching another teenage prospect that appears to fit the mold.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 26, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Illinois fans finally got what they were waiting for all offseason when the Illini added a new player to the defensive line room with Joshua Davis from Copiah-Lincoln Community College. Davis is a 6'3 275 pounder who played only one year at Copiah-Lincoln after receiving very little interest from colleges at Mendenhall (Mississippi) High School. Just like recent JUCO signee BJ Thurman, Davis was not on anyone's radar as a P4 recruit until the moment that Illinois showed interest. Then, in the four days after Illinois offered Davis received offers from 4 other Division 1 schools before Illinois sealed the deal and earned Davis' signature. Though Thurman had offers from several other P4 schools and Davis only had offers from local schools, I actually like Davis a lot more.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

This is a relatively short highlight film because just like Thurman, Davis was playing for a junior college that was spreading playing time around and didn't commit to any one player at any position.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 25, 2026

Illinois doubled down on its offensive line group when Morton's Soren Fifer committed to the Illini. Fifer is a massive individual who is only 16 years old as we speak yet every bit of 6'6 and 290 pounds. Fifer really hasn't grown up yet, and despite that he received offers from most of the upper tier of the Big Ten, including Indiana, Oregon and Iowa. None of that surprises me, because what I see from Fifer is a player who really should be a 4* player yet has been overlooked a little bit because he's still maturing.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

I think everyone needs to understand the type of size Fifer brings to the table. He's already

Illinois and Brad Underwood agreed to put all changes to Underwood’s contract in his annual retention bonus.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 24, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — The University of Illinois Board of Trustees on Thursday approved the amendments to the originally agreed between representatives of Illinois men's basketball coach Brad Underwood and Illinois athletics director Josh Whitman.

As IlliniGuys.com detailed on May 14, only three elements of Underwood’s agreement changed. One, Illinois administration simply agreed to replace the guaranteed year along with the automatic one-year extension that Underwood earned following the Illini’s most recent 2025-26 season that ended with a trip to the Final Four for the third time in the modern era.

After visiting both Louisiana State and Vanderbilt, Ean Rhea elected to play his final season of college football eligibility at Illinois in Bobby Hauck’s new 3-3-5 formation. 

Matt Stevens, IlliniGuys Staff Writer

May 23, 2026

CHAMPAIGN — Illinois has received a verbal pledge from a Division II All-American pass rusher for the upcoming 2026 season. 

Ked Prince, IlliniGuys Senior Recruiting Analyst

March 23, 2026

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois continues to build momentum in the class of 2027, and the latest addition gives the Illini another in-state piece to strengthen an already promising recruiting class.

By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

May 22, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

Even as Illinois gets going on the upcoming Class of 2027, more Class of 2026 players are committing to the program. The newest one is tight end of Benjamin Thurman from College of San Mateo. Thurman is an athletic but undersized tight end who played only one year at San Mateo, totaling only 16 catches for 322 yards. However, when you consider that Thurman had six touchdowns in those limited touches and also played defense, he gets a lot more interesting as a prospect.

Thurman's lack of production is also the result of San Mateo's odd system of playing time. San Mateo averaged 15 completed passes per game, but they spread the ball around so much and played so many players that Thurman's 1.5 receptions per game are actually third on the team. To add to this crazy story, like a few other rumored Illinois recruits, Thurman had no interest from high major schools.... and then he had tons. Thurman tweeted that he was open for recruitment in January. After Spring practice was over, Fresno State pulled the trigger with an offer in March. Then, Illinois offered on April 30 and the floodgates opened with 5 more high major offers in the next five days. Ole Miss joined the fray on May 4 and presented the biggest challenge on the recruiting trail for the Illini before Thurman committed to the Illini on May 13.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?