There is no time to rest in this era of college basketball, as the transfer portal officially opened following the National Championship on Monday night. Coaches used to have two months in April and May to recover from the long season and even take a vacation, but not anymore.
The Illini are already looking for ways to improve their roster for next season, just two days removed from their Final Four loss to UConn. With the departures of seniors Ben Humrichous, Kylan Boswell and A.J. Redd, Illinois
will need to replace its production.
Over 1,500 players have already entered the portal in less than 24 hours, so there will be no shortage of options. Finding the right fit and the right price is a challenge for any coaching staff and front office in this new era of college hoops.
But in recent years, Illinois has done a great job evaluating talent without overpaying for big-name players. Director of Personnel Neel Ganta and Brad Underwood have even implemented a test for potential recruits to evaluate their basketball IQ and better understand how they process the game on the floor.
That evaluation process has proven successful, with numerous home-run portal additions like Terrence Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and key contributors from this year’s Final Four team such as Jake Davis, Zvonimir Ivisic and Andrej Stojakovic.
How can Illinois improve its roster for next season?
Illinois has a strong chance to begin next season ranked in the preseason top 10 nationally if the offseason goes as planned. While the Illini will lose pieces to graduation and likely the transfer portal, they also have a great opportunity to bring back their core for another run.
Andrej Stojakovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic and Jake Davis could all return to Champaign for one final season, while David Mirkovic could be back for his sophomore year after a breakout freshman campaign. Bringing back those five players alone would put the Illini in prime position to compete for a conference title.
Illinois also has four talented freshmen coming in to help fill the gaps left by departing seniors and projected NBA lottery pick Keaton Wagler. MaxPreps All-American Quentin Coleman committed to Illinois on Friday and could step into a starting role immediately. The four-star guard is ranked No. 34 in the class of 2026 by 247 Sports and has the potential to become the next Illinois freshman selected in the first round of the NBA Draft.
This returning core, combined with the incoming freshman class, gives Illinois a strong foundation.
But the Illini still have the opportunity to make a major splash in the portal to elevate the roster even further.
Expect Illinois to be aggressive, likely making at least one major addition and investing significant resources into acquiring a guard to replace Big Ten All-Defensive First Team selection Kylan Boswell. Wisconsin guard John Blackwell and Providence guard Stefan Vaaks are early names to keep an eye on in the portal, though Illinois will face stiff competition from other top programs pursuing those same high-level targets.
The Illini will likely prioritize improving their guard play while also adding a versatile wing to replace Ben Humrichous. There is every reason to trust the Illinois staff to build another high-level roster for the 2026–27 season, especially with an increased budget and national exposure following a Final Four run.
