Monday brought the first real preseason snapshot of the Big Ten race, and Illinois came out looking exactly like a team that expects to be in the middle of everything.
The league unveiled its 11-man preseason All-Big Ten team, and two Illini made the cut: David Mirkovic and Andrej Stojakovic. Only two players across the entire list were unanimous picks, and Mirkovic wasn’t one of them.
That said, the omission doesn’t exactly read like a slight. Mirkovic is coming back from foot surgery, and the expectation around him is that he takes a major step forward.
That kind of leap still has to happen on the floor.
The two unanimous selections were Michigan State’s Jeremy Fears Jr., the Preseason Player of the Year, and Nebraska’s Pryce Sandfort. Fears and Sandfort have already done enough in the league to earn that kind of clean sweep. For a player like Mirkovic, the vote was always going to carry a little more projection.
Illinois also showed up well in The Columbus Dispatch’s annual unofficial preseason poll, which has become the conference’s measuring stick even without an official Big Ten poll. The Illini landed at No. 1, pulling 18 of 28 first-place votes. Michigan State followed at No. 2 with nine first-place votes, Michigan checked in at No. 3 with one first-place vote, and UCLA and Nebraska rounded out the top five.
That ordering makes sense based on the information on the table. Michigan lost Dusty May’s departure to the NBA and then took another hit with the injury to projected starter Brandon McCoy, which helps explain why the Wolverines sit behind Illinois.
Illinois, meanwhile, brings back enough depth and experience to justify the top spot. Michigan State can make a real case for No. 1, especially with Fears giving the Spartans the conference’s best player, but the Illini’s balance is hard to ignore.
The Dispatch also handed out preseason honors for Freshman of the Year and Transfer of the Year, and Illinois had a presence there too. Quentin Coleman tied for third in the freshman voting with one vote. Ohio State’s Anthony Thompson finished first, while UCLA’s Nikola Kusturica came in second.
On the transfer side, Stefan Vaaks claimed the preseason Transfer of the Year award with 12 votes, far ahead of the next-closest player, who received five. Vaaks also drew All-Big Ten preseason team votes, along with Tomislav Ivisic and even Zvonimir Ivisic, who received one vote. Vaaks, Tomislav Ivisic and Coleman were also mentioned as players with All-Big Ten upside, even if none of them were realistic preseason team selections on an 11-man list in an 18-team league loaded with talent.
In Other News...
Illinois Suddenly Has A Chance At A Historic 2028 Class
Rivals latest update to its 2028 basketball rankings gave Illinois recruiting momentum a noticeable boost, with three Fighting Illini targets landing among the top 10 nationally. Brady Pettigrew, Dylan Betts and Benjamin Berrouet all checked in near the top of the class, and each has already taken or is scheduled to take an official visit to Champaign, giving Illinois an early foothold in what could become a defining cycle.
The most intriguing part for Illinois is how well positioned it appears with all three. The program is currently favored to sign Pettigrew and Berrouet, while Betts is also very much in the mix, leaving the Illini with a real chance to build around an elite trio before the class even fully takes shape. For a school that has been trying to sustain national relevance on the recruiting trail, this is the kind of early alignment that can change the ceiling of an entire class. [Read more 🡒]
Brad Underwood Just Gave Illinois Fans More Reason To Believe In Quentin Coleman
Illinois fans already had plenty of reason to circle Quentin Coleman as the headliner of the 2026 class, but Brad Underwood offered another reminder at media day that the buzz is not just about recruiting rank. The Illinois coach pointed to Colemans competitiveness, his shooting and rebounding, and the way his game has started to mature in areas that often separate a promising prospect from a true impact player.
For Illinois, the encouraging part is that Coleman is not being framed as a long-term project. Underwoods praise suggested a freshman season with real expectations attached, even if some parts of his game will still need to be tested in live action. The next step will be seeing how all of that translates once the speed, physicality and decision-making demands of college basketball start coming at him for real. [Read more 🡒]
Tomislav Ivisic Is Giving Illinois Fans A Real Reason For Optimism
Tomislav Ivisics first season in Champaign gave Illinois a real look at what he can do when he is central to the frontcourt mix, and even though his role and production slid in the 2025-26 season, there has been enough since to suggest the trajectory is still pointing up. Brad Underwood said Ivisic made noticeable strides in the offseason, with his work ethic, movement and face-up game all drawing attention as the Illini continue sorting out what their next frontcourt look should be.
For Illinois fans, that matters because Ivisic still profiles as the kind of size and skill package that can change the way this team plays when he is healthy and used the right way. The question now is less about whether the talent is there and more about whether the Illini can put him in position to reclaim the dominant role he briefly flashed before the fit and the circumstances shifted around him. [Read more 🡒]