As April turns to May, it appears that the Illinois Fighting Illini basketball roster is now set for 2026-27. And if that is indeed the case…it’s a great place to be. After the flurry of roster decisions completed, we now have “The Great Retention.” And when you’re coming off a Final Four appearance, not to mention a regular season that was good enough to earn a #3 seed, it’s almost an indeal destination.
Illini basketball coach Brad Underwood can easily stand pat, because he truly holds a winning hand.
A wild portal cycle brought major changes 👀
What’s your biggest takeaway from @cjacobsen23’s latest Top 25? pic.twitter.com/gpWuLhes2x
— FOX College Hoops (@CBBonFOX) April 30, 2026
And like the late, great Kenny Rogers told us, “you got to know when to hold ’em.” Pretty much everyone with an opinion on college basketball has now posted their Way Too Early Rankings for 2026-27.
There is no need to cite and link them all, but we did include a couple of them.
The gist of it is this- the Illini are a consensus top five team, period.
Most often they appear as #4, but some of these rankings have them as high as #2.
Illinois Fighting Illini Basketball Key Absences
Obviously, we start with Keaton Wagler, the winner of the 2026 Jerry West Award, which honors the nation’s best shooting guard.
The Shawnee, KS native was also named High-Major Player of the Month for January by the U.S. Basketball Writers Association.
Basically, Wagler was All-Everything, and he absolutely earned the right to be one-and-done to the NBA Draft.
He’ll be a high lottery pick next month. Kylan Boswell is also a notable loss, especially on the defensive end.
Ben Humrichous, a decent role player, is gone too. Ty Rodgers and Mihailo Petrovic are also no longer with the program.
Way-Too-Early Top 25, version 2.0:
1. Florida
2. Duke
3. Michigan
4. Illinois
5. UConn
6. Arkansas
7. Texas
8. Alabama
9. Michigan St.
10. Arizona
11. Tennessee
12. Houston
13. Vanderbilt
14. USC
15. LouisvilleNebraska, Missouri among risers.
16-25👇https://t.co/bSZlVjtob7
— Jeff Borzello (@jeffborzello) April 27, 2026
So with that in mind, here is what the roster looks like now, and how we think the depth chart might manifest.
2026-27 Illini Basketball Projected Depth
G Quentin Coleman – Brandon Lee – Ethan Brown
G Stefan Vaaks – Lucas Morillo
G/F Andrej Stojakovic – Jake Davis
F David Mirkovic – Jason Jakstys – Zavier Zens – Landon Davis
C Tomislav Ivisic – Zvonimir Ivisic
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.