Illinois basketball fans have been waiting with bated breath for a big fish to be caught in the recruiting game.
Brad Underwood started the class of 2026 off in a solid way back in July, as the Illini landed Ethan Brown. A month later, Landon Davis joined the party with a commitment. Needing a piece to tie everything together, Underwood went to work.
On Friday evening, that work paid off in a big way. Joe Tipton of On3.com reported that Lucas Morillo has committed to Illinois.
NEWS: 4⭐️ Lucas Morillo has committed to Illinois, he tells @Rivals.
— Joe Tipton (@TiptonEdits) October 24, 2025
The 6-6 point guard is the No. 32 overall recruit in the 2026 class, per Rivals. https://t.co/GL3ur3x1AK pic.twitter.com/tnsEhoBuRj
Morillo is a 6-foot-7, 180-pound shooting guard from The Newman School in Massachusetts. He is rated as a four-star recruit and ranked as the No. 50 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 6 shooting guard in the country and the No. 2 player coming out of Massachusetts.
This huge news for the Illini comes on the heels of Morillo cutting his list down to just six schools less than two months ago. Illinois managed to fight off teams like Virginia, Minnesota, UCLA, Marquette, and Texas for this massive commitment.
The rise of Illinois basketball commit Lucas Morillo has been sharp
When Illinois originally offered Morillo a scholarship, he wasn’t a top 100 recruit in the country. In fact, at the time of the offer, he registered as the No. 165 player in the class of 2026. That was back in May of this year.
Over the past few months, Morillo shot up the recruiting charts. He entered the top 100 in July as the No. 63 player in the country. Now, he is the No. 50 player and an Illini commit.
A big reason for the ascension of Morillo is the fact that he burst onto the scene this summer. He suited up for City Rocks in the Nike EYBL AAU circuit, and Morillo showed off his talent. He averaged 15.9 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 3.4 assists per game.
247Sports lists Morillo as a shooting guard, but I believe he is much better suited as a No. 1 guard. He does his best work in the paint by driving and getting the defense to collapse. Morillo is also great in open space with decision-making. Underwood landed someone who is going to fit in perfectly on the Illinois roster.