The 2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini men's basketball team represented the University of Illinois during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The Illini, led by ninth-year head coach Brad Underwood, played their home games at the State Farm Center in Champaign, Illinois as members of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season The Fighting Illini finished the 2024–25 season 12–8 in Big Ten play to finish in seventh place. They defeated Iowa before losing to Maryland in the Big Ten tournament. They then got assigned the #6 seed in the Midwest region in the NCAA tournament. They beat Xavier before losing to Kentucky in the second round.

Offseason In May 2025, it was reported that the team would be hiring Camryn Crocker as assistant coach to replace Tim Anderson, who had left prior to the previous season and whose spot was temporarily filled by Kwa Jones. On June 16, Coach Underwood informed the media that Ty Rodgers had sustained a serious knee injury during a pick-up game in his hometown that would require surgery. Rodgers underwent a successful surgery the following month.

On July 9, the team announced the hiring of Kevin Kruger as Assistant to the Head Coach.

In September, it was reported that Andrej Stojaković had been sidelined with a sprained knee. The following month, Tomislav Ivišić underwent a tonsillectomy and Mihailo Petrović sustained ankle and hamstring injuries, leading to both players missing the Illini's exhibition against Illinois State.

Departures Illinois departures Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Reason for departure Carey Booth 0 F 6'10" 215 Sophomore Englewood, CO Transferred to Colorado State Dra Gibbs-Lawhorn 2 G 6'1" 185 Sophomore Lafayette, IN Transferred to UNLV Will Riley 7 F 6'8" 195 Freshman Kitchener, Ontario Declared for 2025 NBA draft; selected 21st overall by Utah Jazz, traded to Washington Wizards Morez Johnson Jr. 21 F 6'9" 255 Freshman Riverdale, IL Transferred to Michigan Tre White 22 G 6'7" 210 Junior Dallas, TX Transferred to Kansas Keaton Kutcher 24 G 6'2" 195 RS Junior Mount Vernon, IA Walk-on; graduated Kasparas Jakučionis 32 G 6'6" 205 Freshman Vilnius, Lithuania Declared for 2025 NBA draft; selected 20th overall by Miami Heat

Incoming transfers Illinois incoming transfers Name Number Pos. Height Weight Year Hometown Previous school Andrej Stojaković 2 G 6'7" 215 Junior Thessaloniki, Greece California Zvonimir Ivišić 44 C 7'2" 250 Junior Vodice, Croatia Arkansas Source:

2025 recruiting class

Roster

Note: Mihailo Petrović, despite being a freshman, was awarded three years of eligibility. Thus he is listed as a sophomore for eligibility purposes. The same applies to Toni Bilić. Roster movement Rodgers started the season out indefinitely and ultimately did not play. Toni Bilić joined the team for the spring semester. Kylan Boswell broke his hand in practice and missed a month. Jason Jakstys suffered a blood clot and was ruled out for the remainder of the season.

Schedule and results

!colspan=12 style=""| Exhibition

!colspan=9 style=""|Regular season

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Source:

Rankings

References