By IlliniGuys Staff

April 15, 2026

(Cover photo courtesy Illinois Athletics)

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. - After one of the most successful freshman seasons in program history, forward David Mirkovic has confirmed that he will return to play his sophomore season for Illinois live on Twitch on Wednesday afternoon.

The 6-foot-9, 250-pound native of Montenegro played in all 37 games for the Illini, starting in 36 games. Mirkovic averaged 13.3 points and 8 rebounds a game this season, playing a key role in the Illini's first trip to the Final Four since 2005. He also hit 37.5 percent from three-point range, third best on the team.

His return is a major development for an Illini program that went 28-9 in the 2025-26 season and is expected to play a significant role yet again for Brad Underwood as he looks to continue being the winningest team in the Big Ten over the last seven seasons.

Mirkovic made an immediate impact on the program, garnering Big Ten Freshman of the Week honors twice in November. He scored 27 points and grabbed an Illini freshman record 21 rebounds against Colgate on November 14th to post Illinois' first 20-20 game since 1972.

"Big Mirk" recorded nine double-doubles in all, none bigger than his career-high 29 points and 17 rebounds in his NCAA tournament debut against Penn last month. He pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds in Illinois' win over Iowa in the Elite Eight, which propelled the Illini to the Final Four and helped Mirkovic to land on the all-South Region team.

In five NCAA tournament games, Mirkovic averaged 13 points and 8.2 rebounds per game while shooting 40 percent from the three-point arc.

The 20-year old became one of the "characters" of the team during its March run. His "it's a secret, secret" answer to television sideline reporter Lauren Shehadi during an NCAA tournament post-game interview and his donning a large cowboy hat in his Elite Eight celebration both going viral.

He joined classmate Keaton Wagler on the All-Big Ten Freshman Team and received an honorable mention nod on the All-Big Ten Team.

Mirkovic is expected to contend for all-conference honors yet again and could develop into one of the top players in the country in the 2026-27 season.