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By Steve Sturm - IlliniGuys Football Analyst

July 19, 2025

Illinois has had a strong start to its Class of 2026, but after a couple of painful misses on in-state tight ends Mack Sutter and JC Anderson, the program really needed to close the deal on its last big priority for 2026: Jacob Eberhart of Kirkwood (Missouri).  The four-star St. Louis area product is the son of former Illini Jason Eberhart, but with a strong offer list Jacob was far from a lock and in fact had not let the Illini staff know which way he was leaning until the morning of his commitment date.  I'm sure there was a massive sigh of relief in the Smith Football Offices that day as the 6'3, 205-pound athlete chose to follow in his father's footsteps.

What does he bring to the Orange and Blue?

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 18, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy player's X page)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Just when you thought another dominant big man may never roam the court of State Farm Center like former two-time All-American Kofi Cockburn, Illinois head coach Brad Underwood is searching for the next force in the paint.

There’s a new name to keep an eye on: Marcis “The Big Show” Ponder.

By IlliniGuys Staff 

July 17, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Andy Abeyta/The Desert Sun)

Earlier today on our message forum, IlliniGuys Insider/Analyst Brad Sturdy identified for premium members some of the key players to watch as the annual Peach Jam tips off in North Augusta, South Carolina:

Here is a link to the Peach Jam live stream...

EYBL Livestream — Nike EYBL

Illinois head coach Brad Underwood says he and his staff have done everything required for David Mirkovic and Mihailo Petrovic to arrive in Champaign-Urbana in August.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

July 17, 2025

When it comes to getting his final two international pieces on campus, Brad Underwood is in the vulnerable position of playing the waiting game.

The 61-year-old, who just finished his eighth season leading the University of Illinois men’s basketball program, acknowledged there is nothing more he and his coaching staff can do in order to ensure Montenegrin forward David Mirkovic and Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrovic arrive on campus in time for when classes are set to begin on Aug. 25.

While speaking to local media at the 2025 Kendall Gill Golf Benefit at the University of Illinois Golf Course Blue Course in Savoy, Underwood said he and his staff have done everything possible from a paperwork and application process to assist in Mirkovic and Petrovic receiving admission to the university and an F-1 student visa from the U.S. Department of State.

For the fifth straight year, Illinois’ Friday night starting pitcher has been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Staff Writer

July 16, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The streak has stretched to five consecutive years.

Since 2021, the guy who Illinois head coach Dan Hartleb has sent out to the mound for the first inning of a Friday night series has been selected in the Major League Baseball Draft.

Tyler Schmitt turned his one and only season at Illinois into being a 17th round selection in the 2025 draft by the San Diego Padres. Schmitt, who transferred to the Illini after being a first team all-conference selection at the University of Wisconsin at La Crosse, made 15 starts for the Illini totaling a team-best 58 strikeouts and posted 11 outings with three earned runs or fewer.

Schmitt, a 6-foot-3 and 190-pound right-hander who will turn 21 years old in August, follows the likes of Jack Crowder (ninth round by Baltimore in 2024), Riley Gowens (ninth round by Atlanta in 2023) and Nathan Lavender (14th round by New York Mets) of Friday night starters to hear their name called in the draft the following summer.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 16, 2015

(Cover photo courtesy Lob Sport)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Just when it seemed the 2025-26 Illinois men’s basketball roster was finalized, rumors have begun to circulate that the Illini could be adding another overseas player before the summer ends.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 15, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy MadeHoops.com)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The NCAA transfer portal has become the focal point of college basketball roster building in recent years, and few have adapted to that trend as efficiently as Illinois head coach Brad Underwood. Since the NCAA relaxed its transfer rules, Underwood and his staff have utilized the portal to bring in experienced talent and fill roster needs.

However, despite their success in the portal, Illinois is now making a return to high school recruiting, a more traditional, long-term approach that has started to reappear in the Illini’s strategy. The staff is making it clear that high school recruiting still has value, and they are actively offering scholarships to promising underclassmen.

Mike Cagley, Co-Host Sports Spectacular July 14, 2025 The […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 12, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois football continues to build momentum on the recruiting trail, this time heading to the Show-Me State to land its latest commitment. Jacob Eberhart, a 6-foot-3, 200-pound safety/wide receiver from St. Louis, Mo., announced his commitment to the Fighting Illini.

Illinois wide receivers coach Justin Stepp was instrumental in the commitment. Stepp, who has developed a reputation for connecting with high-level talent at the wide receiver position, helped sway Eberhart from a near pledge to Oklahoma. With Illinois building one of its best classes in recent history, Eberhart now becomes the 23rd commitment in the 2026 class.

Less than a month after Illinois Athletic Director Josh Whitman’s comments on the matter and less than two weeks into the CSC’s existence, resistance to the regulations has already begun.

By Matt Stevens - IlliniGuys Football Writer/Analyst

July 12, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy David Craan/Illinois Athletics)

Despite it resembling many things of the previous NCAA’s enforcement department, Josh Whitman insists the new College Sports Commission will be drastically different.

The athletics director at the University of Illinois, who was elected the chairperson of the NCAA Division I Council in May 2024, stressed last month to local media the CSC’s enforcement wing designed to investigate and punish programs in violation of the new regulations put in place starting July 1 will have more qualified personnel and complete autonomy to “investigate swiftly and punish hard”.

By Larry Smith - Co-Host & Executive Producer, IlliniGuys Sports Spectacular

July 11, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

Kasparas Jakucionis turned his nine months on the University of Illinois campus into becoming the 17th Illini to earn a first round selection in the NBA Draft and the 25th to be picked among the top 30 players in the annual dispersal of talent.

But with that lofty status comes expectations and, of course, criticism.

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 10, 2025

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – IlliniGuys confirmed Thursday morning through multiple sources that Destiny Jackson, the 2025 Illinois Ms. Basketball and Gatorade Player of the Year, has suffered a minor thumb injury that will require surgery.

Jackson, a nationally ranked guard who starred at Whitney Young High School in Chicago, is part of Illinois’ heralded 2025 recruiting class. She averaged 21.1 points, 7.5 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 2.8 steals per game during her senior season. ESPN ranks Jackson at No. 29 nationally, and she headlines a class ranked 9th in the country and 1st in the Big Ten.

By IlliniGuys Staff

July 10, 2025

The annual NBA Summer League in Las Vegas will have plenty of reasons for Illini fans to rune in, as five former Illinois players will be in uniform during the midsummer tournament, featuring recent draft picks and free agents.

Leading the way is 2024 Minnesota Timberwolves first round pick Terrence Shannon Jr., who came off the bench to score 35 points in 37 minutes in the T'wolves' final three games in the Western Conference finals against eventual NBA champion Oklahoma City. The spurt raised eyebrows and caused sports writers and broadcasters across the country to ask why the 24-year old hadn't seen more playing time prior to that stretch.

The former All-Big Ten performer is expected to dominate the summer tournament, after averaging 17.7 points in three games last summer and scoring an eye-popping 36.5 points per outing on 55 percent shooting during a four-game stretch with the G-League's Iowa Wolves last winter.

Shannon is projected to play a much larger role in his sophomore season in Minnesota, while last month's first rounders - Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley - look to make their mark for their respective Miami and Washington squads.

Former UNLV head coach Kevin Kruger has been added […]

By Kedric Prince - IlliniGuys Director of Recruiting

July 9, 2025

(Cover photo courtesy Austin Souvanarath)

For the next several days, I will break down one current men’s and women’s basketball player each day and discuss what expectations might be for the upcoming season.

Today’s Double Dribble 2-1 Focus features Illinois guard Kylan Boswell and women's center Naomi Benson

Player Biography: Naomi Benson, a 6-foot-2 wing from Streetsboro, Ohio, may be one of the most underrated preps in the country. According to ESPNW, Benson closed out the 2025 recruiting cycle ranked No. 96. But judging by the offers she received and the caliber of schools in her final 10, it’s clear Illinois head coach Shauna Green saw something special early. Green had been recruiting Benson since her sophomore year of high school.

Benson’s final 10 schools were: DePaul, Alabama, Cal, Virginia Tech, Michigan, Penn State, Wake Forest, Memphis, Mississippi State, and Illinois.

What we know: