Illinois basketball may already have its next star lined up, and Brad Underwood’s recruiting run keeps rolling
Illinois fans have gotten used to watching elite talent come through Champaign, and the latest name on the board is another big one. Brad Underwood already has Quentin Coleman committed for 2026, Quinton Kitt and Mason Martin locked in for 2027, and now the program is making an early push for one of the top prospects in the class of 2028.
On Monday, Brady Pettigrew took an unofficial visit to Illinois. That alone is worth noticing. Pettigrew is no ordinary target - he’s a 6-foot-3, 185-pound combo guard from Bolingbrook High School who is rated as a five-star recruit, ranked No. 15 overall in 2028, the No. 2 combo guard in the country, and the best player coming out of Illinois.
For a program that just watched Keaton Wagler leave after a Final Four run and go No. 5 overall to the Los Angeles Clippers, the idea of another blue-chip guard waiting in the pipeline is a serious development. Wagler was a one-and-done and one of the best players in the country, and Illinois fans now have to live with the reality that expectations are going to keep climbing.
That’s part of what makes Pettigrew’s visit so important. In the NIL era, money matters, but so do relationships. Illinois has the resources to hang with anyone in the sport, and getting in early with a player of Pettigrew’s caliber could pay off down the line.
Underwood’s recruiting record at Illinois has only gotten better with time. He landed Ayo Dosunmu in his first year.
He brought in Kofi Cockburn, an All-American. He also signed Adam Miller and Brandin Podziemski, though neither finished their Illinois run as hoped - Miller arrived as a top recruit, and Podziemski is now in the NBA.
The recent stretch has been even more impressive. Illinois’ 2024 class produced three first-round NBA Draft picks in Will Riley, Morez Johnson Jr., and Kasparas Jakucionis. The 2025 class featured Wagler, the No. 5 pick in the draft, along with David Mirkovic, who is projected as a first-round pick in 2027.
Coleman is next in that line, and he’s already being viewed as a high first-round pick who could rise into the single digits. With Pettigrew now on the radar, Illinois may be building toward another wave before the current one has even fully arrived.
Underwood and his staff have made a habit of spotting talent early and turning it into real NBA-level production. Nothing about this recruiting momentum suggests that’s slowing down.
In Other News...
Brad Underwood Is Betting Everything On Illinois Taking The Next Step
Brad Underwood has spent the offseason treating Illinois run to the Final Four as a step, not a finish line. After getting that far last spring, the Illini now look built for another serious push, with Andrej Stojakovi back in Champaign and David Mirkovic among the key returners giving the roster a different kind of continuity heading into next season.
The challenge, of course, is whether Illinois can turn that optimism into the kind of leap Underwood is openly chasing. The Illini are already being viewed as a Big Ten favorite and carry some of the better national championship odds in the country, which means expectations will be attached from the start. The next answer will come not from the hype, but from how quickly this group settles into the pressure that comes with it. [Read more 🡒]
David Mirkovi Looks Like Hes Chasing A Much Bigger Illinois Role
Brad Underwood has kept most of Illinois basketball roster intact while adding transfers after losing leading scorer Keaton Wagler to the NBA, and the biggest internal development may be the rise of freshman forward David Mirkovi. He is back for his sophomore season, has spent the offseason working out heavily and now looks positioned to become one of the more important pieces on a roster trying to replace a major scoring hole without starting from scratch.
For Illinois, the appeal is obvious: Mirkovi gives the staff a returning frontcourt option who already knows the system and appears ready for a larger load. With Andrej Stojakovi still working his way back from knee surgery, the Illini are leaning on continuity where they can find it, and Mirkovis willingness to stay in Champaign and keep building his game has only sharpened the sense that his role next season could be much bigger than what he showed as a freshman. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Underwood Thinks This Illini Team Is Finally Getting Tougher
Brad Underwood spent part of the offseason talking less about scheme and more about the kind of body blow Illinois needs to bring every night. The Illini coach praised strength coach Adam Fletcher for the physical work done in the weight room, and he singled out David Mirkovic as one of the players who has kept making strides in that area. For a team trying to raise its floor going into the new season, that kind of development matters as much as any new wrinkle on the board.
Underwoods bigger point was about edge. He wants more aggressiveness and tenacity on defense, with steals, blocks and general disruption coming from the entire roster instead of being left to one player or one position. Illinois had enough individual rim protection last season to survive in stretches, but the next step is making that toughness part of the group identity, not a nightly exception. [Read more 🡒]