Brad Underwood has changed the way Illinois basketball has to think about recruiting.
For years, the Illini could celebrate a strong class and feel good about landing a player inside the top 50. That’s not the standard anymore. Underwood has pushed the program into a different lane, one where five-star talent is no longer a dream scenario but a real expectation.
That shift became impossible to ignore when Will Riley committed to Illinois. It was the program’s first five-star recruit in decades, and while that ride came with its ups and downs, it also showed what this staff can do when it goes after elite talent. It even produced a first round NBA Draft pick.
For a while, there was a reasonable question about whether Riley was a one-time splash. Maybe Illinois had gone all-in on one elite prospect and would return to a more modest recruiting approach after that. That idea doesn’t hold up anymore.
Illinois has now added five-star guard Quentin Coleman, giving Underwood his second five-star in three seasons. Coleman should be in line to start the 2026-27 campaign, because a player with that kind of profile isn’t coming in to sit behind others.
That matters for how the program is viewed. Underwood has landed two five-star recruits, and they are the highest-rated players Illinois has brought in since recruiting rankings began in 2003, according to the source.
The bigger point is how much the bar has moved. Illinois used to be the kind of program that hoped a good class would be enough.
Now the recruiting conversation has changed along with the on-court expectations. The program that once lived in the middle has raised its ceiling, and the talent coming in is reflecting that.
And Underwood doesn’t look finished.
The class of 2027 already has a major target in NaVorro Bowman Jr., a five-star and the No. 10 player in the country. He has an official visit to Illinois locked in.
Then there’s Brady Pettigrew in the 2028 class. The Bolingbrook star is a five-star recruit and the No. 15 player in the nation, and he has already visited Champaign. Those relationships are getting stronger.
Two five-stars is already a big deal for Illinois. The way this is going, it may not stay at two for long. Underwood has changed the recruiting mindset around the program, and Illinois is now operating like a team that expects to land elite talent, not just chase it.
In Other News...
Illinois Just Got A Brutal Preseason Reality Check In The Big Ten
The Athletics 2026 preseason All-Big Ten teams offered a blunt early read on where Illinois sits in the league hierarchy, and the results were not flattering. Xavier Scott was the lone Illini to make the cut, landing on the second team and giving Illinois just one representative across the publications three preseason squads.
For a program trying to build on recent momentum, the thin showing raises an obvious question about who else might have belonged in the conversation. Collin Dixon and CaLil Valentine were both mentioned as players who could have pushed for recognition after what they did in 2025, while Scotts selection comes with its own context after he was limited to three games last season before an ankle injury shut him down. [Read more 🡒]
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The change is not limited to football, either. The patch will extend across all Illinois athletic teams, making it a broad branding shift for the department and one that will be hard for fans to miss once it shows up on uniforms. For supporters who care about tradition, the sight of a sponsor on the jersey may take some getting used to, even if the financial logic behind it is easy enough to understand. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois May Have A Real Answer To Its Looming Frontcourt Issue
Illinois has spent the last couple of seasons leaning on the Ivisic brothers to anchor the middle, but the long-term picture at center is going to change once Tomislav and Zvonimir move on after the 2026-27 season. That makes the upcoming search for a true No. 5 especially important for a program that wants to keep size in the paint and avoid having to patch together the position later.
One possible answer is already on the radar. A highly regarded 7-foot-3 center from the 2028 class has lined up unofficial visits to several schools, including Illinois, giving the Illini a chance to get in early with a traditional big man who could fit exactly what they will need down the road. For a team looking ahead, that kind of head start can matter just as much as the immediate recruiting buzz. [Read more 🡒]