Illinois spent the last few years leaning on the international route and the transfer portal to fill out its roster. This offseason looks a lot different.
Six of the seven newcomers for 2026 are high school recruits, and the class landed at No. 12 nationally in the 247Sports rankings. The headliner is five-star Quentin Coleman, but Brad Underwood made it clear on Thursday that this freshman group has given him plenty to like beyond the obvious name at the top.
“I think Quentin [Coleman] is obviously very talented,” Underwood said. “A guy that has made huge jumps through the course of the summer as he’s gotten to understand what we’re doing. He’s very talented.”
That kind of praise fits the buzz Coleman already brought with him, whether from his “Newcomer Highlights” or his work with Team USA earlier this summer. The St. Louis-area native arrived with the biggest reputation in the class, and Underwood says the talent has shown up in practice.
He also singled out Ethan Brown, the freshman guard from Rolla, Missouri, who has caught his eye early.
“I’ve been very impressed with Ethan Brown, a young man from Rolla, Missouri. Six-foot-four, great athlete, can really, really shoot it,” Underwood said. “And I don’t want to single anybody out, but those guys have been great.”
The most interesting name in the group might be Landon Davis. He entered the class as the lowest-rated recruit in Illinois’ 2026 haul and was the program’s lone high-major offer, according to 247Sports. Now he’s already turning heads, with a path to rotation minutes and a ceiling that appears to be climbing fast.
“Landon Davis has been a very big surprise - a guy that’s 6-foot-9, has a 7-foot-2 wingspan, but a great athlete [and] just turned into a much, much better shooter from three than I anticipated,” Underwood said.
Recent highlights posted by Illinois basketball showed exactly that: Davis stepping into shots with confidence and a clean, textbook release.
The rest of the freshman class has also drawn attention. Lucas Morillo came in as a four-star and a consensus top-55 prospect, while late commits Zavier Zens and Lincoln Williams have each made news this offseason in their own right.
“So we go right on down the list,” Underwood said. “Lucas Morillo has been out a lot with a back injury; he’s just gotten back.
And so I like all [of] this group. I like this freshman group a lot.”
Underwood didn’t stop there. He said this is the kind of summer where a coach usually starts sorting through which freshmen can help right away. That hasn’t been the case here.
“Group of freshmen that I’ve been extremely pleased with,” Underwood said. “And I say this in a positive way.
We haven’t lost any of them yet. Usually in the summer, you feel like, well, there’s a couple guys that maybe can’t help you right away.
I don’t feel that. We’re very smart.
We’ve got a very high-IQ team with this freshman group. They’ve all adjusted, retained, been very good.
They’ve all done the job physically in the weight room with [strength and conditioning coach Adam Fletcher].”
In Other News...
Illinois Is Chasing Another Elite Guard With One Big Hurdle
Illinois basketball is already working ahead to the 2027 class, and the early returns suggest the Illini are going to be in the mix for another premium talent. King Gibson has trimmed his list to 10 schools, with Illinois still in the hunt, and the program has also landed two commitments in the class while positioning itself as a serious player for multiple five-star prospects.
The bigger issue, at least for now, is getting Gibson on campus in an official capacity. He has visit dates lined up with other programs, but Illinois has not yet scheduled one, leaving the Illini with interest but still a bit of ground to make up. For a staff trying to stack elite guards and stay in the conversation with the top names in the country, that next step matters. [Read more 🡒]
Bret Bielema Sent A Clear Message After The Big Ten's New Rule
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Bielemas message fit that framework: follow the rules, and dont blur the distinction between players who are still in college football and those who have moved on to the NFL. For Illinois, it is another reminder that roster management in the Big Ten now has an even firmer boundary, and that any team hoping to navigate those edges will have to do so without expecting a second chance once a player steps into the pro world. [Read more 🡒]
Illinois Final Roster Move Says A Lot About Brad Underwood
Illinois quietly rounded out its 2026-27 roster by bringing in Arizona State transfer Quentin McCoy, a move that says as much about roster management as it does about the Illinis long-term planning. McCoy spent two seasons in Tempe with limited game time, and his addition gives Brad Underwoods program a full complement of players heading into the next cycle.
The fit points to a familiar Underwood approach: keeping the roster balanced, valuing available pieces, and making sure the group has enough bodies to get through the grind of a season. McCoy is expected to help mainly in practice and in the day-to-day flow of the program, which makes the signing less about headline chasing and more about filling a real need in a way that matches Illinois current roster reality. [Read more 🡒]