Three University of Illinois Fighting Illini men’s basketball players received All-Big Ten recognition on March 10, according to an announcement from the conference office and the Associated Press.
The recognition highlights the strong performance of the team and its athletes during the season. These awards reflect both individual accomplishments and the team’s continued success in Big Ten competition.
Keaton Wagler was named First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Freshman of the Year by coaches, media, and the Associated Press, with a unanimous selection from the AP. He was also unanimously chosen by coaches for the Big Ten All-Freshman Team. Wagler set a new freshman scoring record at Illinois with 554 points so far this season, averaging 17.9 points per game. He has scored in double figures in each of his last 23 games and has nine games with at least 20 points. Wagler was recognized as Big Ten Freshman of the Week six times and earned National Player of the Week after scoring 46 points against Purdue on January 24.
Wagler is now one of eight first-team All-Big Ten honorees under head coach Brad Underwood’s leadership. The Illini have had at least one first-team pick in six consecutive seasons, tying Purdue for most first-team selections over seven years. Wagler is also only the fifth player in school history to be named Big Ten Freshman of the Year.
David Mirkovic joined Wagler on the coaches’ Big Ten All-Freshman Team and received honorable mention from both coaches and media. Mirkovic averages 13.2 points per game and leads Illinois in rebounds with 7.8 per game, including a standout performance with 27 points and 21 rebounds against Colgate on November 14.
Senior Kylan Boswell earned honorable mention from media and was selected for one of five spots on the coaches’ Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Boswell averages 13.3 points per game along with four rebounds and over three assists per contest, earning praise for his defensive versatility.
Junior Jake Davis was recognized as Illinois’ recipient of the Big Ten Sportsmanship Award.
These players contributed to Illinois achieving a No. 9 national ranking, a record of 24-7 overall, their seventh straight season with at least twenty wins, their highest regular-season win total since 2005-06, and finishing second in conference play with a record of fifteen wins out of twenty games.
Illinois will begin its postseason as a No. 4 seed in the quarterfinal round of the Big Ten Tournament on Friday afternoon.
According to the official website, Illinois has reached NCAA Final Four tournaments several times throughout its history—including appearances in 1949, 1951, 1952, 1989, and 2005—and plays home games in Champaign while competing as part of NCAA Division I athletics within the Big Ten Conference under its “Fighting Illini” nickname.
