Brad Underwood lands coveted official visit from 5-star Illinois native Brady Pettigrew

Brad Underwood has proven his ability to recruit at a high level at Illinois, and a recent Final Four appearance should make that process even easier now. While Underwood is preparing for the upcoming season, he must also focus on the recruiting trail, especially with five-star guard Brady Pettigrew now planning a visit to Champaign.

Pettigrew has garnered a lot of interest in recent months as the 2028 recruiting cycle starts to heat up. While there is still a lot of time for the five-star combo guard to make his decision, he is already planning his official visits, one of which is to Illinois.

Not only will Pettigrew visit Illinois, but four other schools as well: Florida, Arkansas, Michigan, and Ohio State, making this a Big Ten and SEC battle as of right now. Underwood will need to use one advantage that he has to try to get Pettigrew in an Illini uniform in 2028: his connection to Illinois.

Brad Underwood must use every tactic he has to land 5-star Illinois native Brady Pettigrew

The initial period for contacting 2028 recruits has only been open for a couple of months, but Pettigrew has been a hot commodity as the No. 16 player in the country, according to SCNext. With a total of 35 offers, Pettigrew will have his pick of schools, and while he only has five official visits set right now, don't be surprised if he adds a few more later on.

Pettigrew's official visits start as early as September 12, when he will visit the reigning National Champion Michigan Wolverines, and finish right as conference play kicks off with a trip to Arkansas with John Calipari on January 1. The Illinois native will be in Champaign on October 2, roughly a month before the college basketball season begins.

Even going up against a huge list of schools, Underwood has a slight advantage here with Pettigrew's ties to his home state. The Illinois head coach may not even need to call on that advantage, given his track record of recruiting great talent. Underwood's resume speaks for itself with guys like Keaton Wagler, who went from a three-star prospect to the No. 5 pick in the 2026 NBA Draft.

The biggest obstacle that Underwood could run into is the NIL battle. Schools like Arkansas, Michigan, and Florida have the money, especially in basketball, to offer big NIL packages, while Illinois struggles to compete in that area. If that is the case, Underwood will have to lean on the success of his team as his most effective recruiting tactic.

This is going to be a long recruiting process, with the 2028 cycle having only just opened a few months ago, so Underwood will have to play his cards right, especially going up against two recent National Champion schools right now.

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