Ben Humrichous will be fifth active player and sixth player from last season’s Illinois roster to return for another campaign in Champaign-Urbana.

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Ben Humrichous has verbally committed to playing one more season at Illinois.

With Humrichous telling University of Illinois athletics administration he’s not likely to posting an announcement to social media confirming his return to the Illini’s 2025-26 roster, the 22-year-old forward allowed the university athletics spokesperson to confirm the news to local reporters.

Humrichous, who turns 23 years old in July, has been automatically granted one more year of playing eligibility through the NCAA Eligibility Center based on the precedent being sent started by the injunction being upheld in state court filed by Vanderbilt football player Diego Pavia.

In December, a federal judge granted a preliminary injunction allowing the Vanderbilt quarterback to play the upcoming 2025 season. U.S. District Judge William L. Campbell stated in his ruling the NCAA cannot take any action against Vanderbilt or any other university that Pavia plays a fifth season. Campbell noted current NCAA bylaws had made Pavia ineligible to play Division I football in 2025 simply because the quarterback started his career at a junior college. Campbell pointed out the NCAA does not start the eligibility clock for prep school athletes even when they compete athletically against junior colleges or other schools that count as “collegiate institutions.”

Two days before Christmas, the NCAA Division I Board of Directors approved a blanket waiver granting an additional year of eligibility to former junior college transfers in similar positions to Pavia. According to an NCAA memo, the waiver extends an extra year of eligibility in 2025-26 to athletes who previously "competed at a non-NCAA school for one or more years".

Humrichous entered last month's NCAA Tournament leading the Illini with 62 3-pointers on the season and knocked down at least one three-pointer in 29 of 35 games.

Humrichous’ 62 three-pointers ranked tied for first in the nation among power conference players listed 6-9 or taller with Stanford’s Maxime Raynaud (7-foot-1), and Creighton’s Jackson McAndrew (6-foot-10).

Humrichous was noncommittal with media in Milwaukee during the Illini’s NCAA Tournament run last March about his basketball future. However, Underwood said nearly a month later at his Coaches vs. Cancer event at Gordyville USA in Gifford, Ill. that the forward who averaged 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds last season continued to have individual workouts with Illinois men’s basketball strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher during this spring semester.

“He’s working with Fletch getting bigger and stronger and I think he’s got the opportunity to have such an incredible season just being more comfortable with us,” Underwood said on April 18. “He’s a guy that stretches the floor and can shoot it. There’s not a nicer human being to coach than Ben Humrichous. I hope that we can expect to see him in orange and blue next season.”

Humrichous, who played in all 35 games with 26 starts last season while averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds, will likely be the sixth player from last season’s roster (with five being active and redshirt Ty Rodgers) to return for another go-around in Champaign-Urbana.