Illinois wasted no time getting in on the ground floor with Braylin Calhoun.
The class of 2031 guard made an unofficial visit to Champaign on Saturday, giving the Illini an early look at one of the youngest names already drawing real attention on the recruiting trail.
Calhoun shared his own note about the trip on social media, writing: “Thank you @illinimbb for hosting a great unofficial visit last night #ILL pic.twitter.com/8gbpnpWbQr”
A Milwaukee, Wisconsin, product, Calhoun is listed at 6-foot-4 and is still in eighth grade, but his profile has been climbing fast. Earlier this year, Coast2Coast Preps had him ranked No. 3 in the country, and his work with the KL Power5 program on the Adidas 3Sripes Select basketball circuit has only added to the buzz around him.
Illinois is not alone in taking an early swing. Calhoun has already made unofficial visits to Michigan and Wisconsin, and he picked up his first offer on September 2 from Incarnate Word.
Even before high school, Calhoun is drawing notice because of the tools he already brings to the table. He has the kind of frame, athletic ability, and defensive presence that stand out immediately, and at 6-foot-4, 180 pounds, he already looks like a player built to handle top-level competition.
For Illinois, the move makes sense. The program is already in the mix for elite prospects such as five-stars Dylan Betts and Brady Pettigrew, and with the Illini ranked No. 3 in the 2026 preseason AP Poll, they continue to position themselves among the country’s top recruiting destinations.
Calhoun is still years away from making a college decision, and a lot will change before then. But Illinois has clearly decided there’s no reason to wait. Brad Underwood and his staff are getting involved now, trying to establish that relationship long before the rest of the sport fully catches up.
In Other News...
Illinois Just Landed At The Center Of The Big Ten Debate
The early chatter around the 2026-27 Big Ten race already has Illinois sitting in an enviable spot, with preseason projections placing the Illini at the top of the conference. It is the sort of opening forecast that immediately frames the league conversation, especially in a Big Ten where the margin between first place and the next contender is usually razor thin.
Michigan State is pegged as the nearest challenger, which only sharpens the spotlight on Illinois as the rest of the league gets sorted into performance tiers and NCAA Tournament possibilities. The projections are still just that, projections, but they give the Illini a prominent place in a conference picture that also includes a handful of teams expected to be in the mix and others bracing for a tougher spring. [Read more 🡒]
Berry Wallace Is Giving Illinois Fans A Bigger Reason To Dream
Berry Wallaces rise has given Illinois womens basketball another layer of intrigue heading into the new season, and now the junior forward has added a national honor to the growing list. Wallace was named to the 20-player preseason watchlist for the Cheryl Miller Small Forward of the Year Award, a recognition that fits the kind of leap she made as a sophomore and the role she is expected to carry in her third year with the program.
For Shauna Greens team, the selection is more than a nod to one players progress. Wallace is the first Illinois player under Green to land on this watchlist, a sign that her impact is reaching beyond the Big Ten after earning First Team all-conference honors last season. It also gives Illini fans another reason to believe the ceiling for this group could be even higher if Wallace keeps building on what she showed a year ago. [Read more 🡒]
Can Blake Fagbemi Force His Way Into Illinois Crowded Backcourt
Blake Fagbemi enters his second season at Illinois with the kind of rsum that does not show up much in box scores but can still matter on a veteran-heavy roster. The freshman guard spent most of his first year in a limited role, yet he got the benefit of being around a team that made a Final Four run, and that kind of exposure can speed up the learning curve for a player whose strengths already fit a coachs trust list.
The challenge now is finding a path into a crowded backcourt where minutes will be hard to come by. Fagbemi brings quickness, basketball IQ and a defensive edge that Illinois values, along with enough playmaking ability to keep him in the conversation, but he still has to turn that behind-the-scenes promise into something more visible when the rotation tightens. [Read more 🡒]