Illinois Basketball Stars Honored

0:00On March 12th, the college basketball regular season has wrapped up kicking off awards time in the Big Ten. Three stars from Illinois picked up major honors for the 2025-26 campaign. Freshman standout Keaton Wagler landed on the first team all Big Ten, the all-freshman team, and took home unanimous Big Ten freshman of the year. Wagler has put up 17.9 points, 4.9 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game, shooting efficiently across the board. It's being called the best freshman year in Illinois Hoops history, and he's the first Elini to snag that freshman award since Kofi Cockburn back in. 20. 20. His teammate, Kylin Boswell, earned honorable mention from both coaches and media, plus a spot on the all-big-ten defensive team. The champagne native in his final college season averages 13.3 points for rebounds and 3.4 assists. He's the first Elini defender honored like that since Trent Frazier in 2022. David Merkovich, another freshman from Montenegro, joined the honorable mention list and the

1:04all-freshman team. He's delivered 13.2 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.5 assists in a strong debut. These nods highlight Illinois's deep back core talent heading into the postseason, setting the stage for a big March run.