International players in Final Four: How Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, UConn used global influence for rosters

International players in Final Four: How Illinois, Michigan, Arizona, UConn used global influence for rosters originally appeared on The Sporting News. Add The Sporting News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

The 2026 Final Four teams have been set. Illinois, Michigan, Arizona and UConn have advanced to the 2026 NCAA Tournament semifinals with one win standing between them and an appearance in the national championship game.

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While each of these programs is a premier college basketball destination for recruits, they aren’t completely made up of homegrown talent. Illinois and UConn, for example, have crafted rosters that have carried them to the Final Four by leveraging global basketball markets and bringing in international players. Both the Fighting Illini and Huskies have nearly half their rosters from outside the U.S.

Here is more on the international players participating in the 2026 Final Four.

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International players in Final Four

Illinois

Position

Player

Country

F

David Mirkovic

Niksic, Montenegro

G

Brandon Lee

San Juan, Puerto Rico

G

Andrej Stojakovic

Thessaloniki, Greece

F

Toni Bilic

Trogir, Croatia

C

Tomislav Ivisic

Vodice, Croatia

F

Zvonimir Ivisic

Vodice, Croatia

G

Mihailo Petrovic

Prokuplje, Serbia

The Fighting Illini have a 15-man roster, and seven of the players are international.

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David Mirkovic

Mirkovic was born in Niksic, Montenegro, in 2006. He started his professional basketball career at 16, playing for Studentski centar, also known as SC Derby. Mirkovic was part of the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders and Adidas Next Gen Showcase in 2023 and 2024. He represented Montenegro and then made the senior national team in 2024 at the FIBA EuroBasket Qualifier.

Mirkovic played in all 36 games for the Fighting Illini this season, despite being a freshman. He is 6-9 and started 35 of the 36 games he played in. Mirkovic averaged 13.5 points, 8.1 rebounds, and 2.6 assists over 29.5 points per…

Source link : https://sports.yahoo.com/articles/international-players-final-four-illinois-075003778.html

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Publish date : 2026-04-04 07:50:00

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