The Illinois Fighting Illini will certainly lose player to the NBA Draft, in Keaton Wagler, who is likely to be selected in the top ten. The Illini will also see one of their players from the 2024-25 team, Morez Johnson, stay in the draft. He’ll likely be a late first round selection. Kylan Boswell and Andrej Stojakovic, two key players from this past season’s Final Four team, joined Wagler and Johnson at the combine. Boswell could be a late second round pick while Stojakovic still has eligibility remaining.
It has been thought all along that Stojakovic was only “testing the waters” at the combine, with the main intent on returning to Champaign next season.
What’s the latest on Andrej Stojakovic? 🤔
“It’s a no-brainer for him to come back to Illinois. I think he already cancelled some of his NBA workouts” – @GoodmanHoops
🎥: https://t.co/QB3WRI2gL1 pic.twitter.com/ccLHrcV2ci
— The Field of 68 (@TheFieldOf68) May 20, 2026
The stellar small forward/shooting guard/wing recently worked out with the Boston Celtics.
While it’s not official yet, we should receive confirmation on his returning to the Illini, and relatively soon.
One of the nation’s leading college basketball pundits/reporters/media personalities, Jeff Goodman of The Field of 68, says Stojakovic will be coming back to Illinois for 2026-27.
“No brainer, come back,” Goodman said on his outlet’s podcast. “I think he cancelled some NBA workouts already. I think there may be an injury there as well, but I don’t think there is any major risk, it sounds like, of him (Andrej Stojakovic) staying in the NBA Draft.”
Once Wagler and Johnson get drafted, it will mark the sixth and seventh former Illini to become NBA Draft selections in the 2020s. Obviously 8 if Boswell goes too, and yes we’re counting Brandon Podziemski in that list.
All of them, with the exception of Johnson and Will Riley, are guards (Terrence Shannon was a G/F).
So we’re really seeing Illinois develop into a NBA Draft factory, when it comes to the guard position. We’re also seeing the football program excel, in terms of developing guys and getting them to the draft.
According to Ratings.org, “Bret Bielema has “seen 59 of his players get drafted into the NFL.”
This is all part of a truly golden age for Illini revenue producing sports, something we have not seen since the mid 1980s.
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to USA Today’s NFL Wires Network, Ratings and RG. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated and the Chicago Tribune. His work has been featured in numerous outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Forbes and the Washington Post.