Illinois Lost Its Best Freshman Ever to the NBA, and the Backcourt Just Got Way Emptier

One day after the NCAA Division I men's basketball championship wrapped up, the transfer portal opened, and college basketball rosters started shifting everywhere. For Illinois, that meant saying goodbye to one of the most explosive freshman seasons the program has ever seen.

Keaton Wagler declared for the NBA draft on Saturday, and honestly, nobody is shocked. The kid came in as the No. 261 recruit and turned into a consensus All-American and the Jerry West shooting guard of the year in a single season. That does not happen every year. Wagler set multiple Illinois freshman records, dropping 17.9 points per game while hitting 87 three-pointers. He also chipped in 4.2 assists and 5.1 rebounds per game while leading the Illini to their first Final Four appearance since 2005.

What This Departure Means for Illinois

Wagler announced the news on Instagram, thanking Brad Underwood and the Illinois staff "for believing in me when others did not." He only had two high-major offers coming out of high school, and now ESPN has him rated as the fifth-best prospect in the entire NBA draft. That is the kind of leap that gets scouts excited.

But here is the problem: Illinois just lost its leading scorer, and backcourt mate Kylan Boswell is out of eligibility too. Two more Illini players are heading to the portal as well. Serbian point guard Mihailo Petrović and Croatian forward Toni Bilić are leaving, according to DraftExpress and 247Sports. Petrović played in just 18 games and averaged 1.7 points per game, while Bilić came to the team in December, practiced with them, but never actually played.

Around the Big Ten and Beyond

Northwestern is trying to rebuild after a rough 15-19 and 5-15 season, but at least guards Angelo Ciaravino, Jake West, and Phoenix Gill are returning. Ciaravino and West combined for 35 starts last season, with Ciaravino averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds while West put up 5.3 points and 2.4 assists. Gill, the son of former Illinois star Kendall Gill, played in 11 games as a freshman. Still, the Wildcats are losing forward Nick Martinelli to graduation and could lose their next three leading scorers, with forward Arrinten Page, forward Tre Singleton, and guard Jayden Reid all entering the portal alongside five other Wildcats players.

On the women's side, Notre Dame guard Hannah Hidalgo announced she is returning for her senior year after leading the Irish to the Elite Eight in 2026. As a junior, she was the Naismith and WBCA national defensive player of the year and a first team All-American, averaging 25.3 points, 6.9 rebounds, 5.6 steals, and 5.2 assists. She already holds the NCAA record for single-season and single-game steals.

This article was created with AI assistance and reviewed by Seattle On Tap editorial staff. Always verify information with official team sources.