Is Illinois a preseason Top-5 team?

The transfer portal officially closed last night, and the Illini’s roster for the 2026-27 season is mostly set. In what has been a noisy and uncertain month across college basketball, Illinois had one of the quietest Aprils of any program in the sport. The Illini had just four players enter the transfer portal and will return over 60% of their minutes from last season.

Ty Rodgers, Brandon Lee, Mihailo Petrovic, and Toni Bilic were the only Illini to enter the portal, while the remaining seven players with eligibility left (other than Keaton Wagler) will return to Champaign for another season.

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Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, Jake Davis, David Mirkovic, Andrej Stojakovic, Jason Jakstys, and Blake Fagbemi are all coming back next year. That gives the Illini a strong core to build on following a historic 2025-26 Final Four run. Illinois should be a preseason top-10 team and could even crack the top five when rankings are released in October.

But should Illinois be a preseason top-five team?

The amount of talent returning to Illinois next season highlights the culture Brad Underwood has built within the program. The Illini will return five of their eight rotation players and enter the year as one of the favorites to win the national championship.

“I love being here at Illinois. It is a great place to be. You guys make it feel like home. I love all my teammates,” Jake Davis said recently.

The returnees have consistently expressed their love for the University of Illinois, the fans and the coaching staff as key reasons for coming back. They clearly enjoy playing together and have no desire to be anywhere else.

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Illinois has also added pieces to help offset the departures of Keaton Wagler, Kylan Boswell, and Ben Humrichous. The Illini brought in high-level transfer Stefan Vaaks to help fill some of the scoring void. Vaaks is a special offensive talent who fits the big-guard mold the coaching staff values.

Five freshmen will also compete for minutes,…

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Publish date : 2026-04-22 13:24:00

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