When you look at the Illinois basketball recruiting class for 2026, you see one of the highest-ranked classes in the country.
As of right now, the Illini sit No. 7 in the country when it comes to the class of 2026. But that is mostly due to other programs not having commits just yet.
Illinois, on the other hand, has two commits. Ethan Brown and Landon Davis have both pledged to the Orange and Blue. While having them on board is awesome, Illinois can’t move forward with just those two in the class of 2026. We need to land a couple of big-time recruits as well.
On Wednesday, Illinois moved one step closer to potentially landing that massive recruit. Dushawn London of 247Sports reported on social media that Cameron Holmes has started to set up official visits.
London reports that Holmes has visits set up to North Carolina, Oklahoma, Texas, Gonzaga, Arizona, and Illinois. According to Holmes’ recruiting profile, he will start with the Illini on September 12. He will then head to North Carolina on September 19, the Sooners on October 3, Texas on October 13, Gonzaga on November 11, and Arizona on December 5
NEWS: Cameron Holmes, the No. 24 overall prospect in the class of 2026, has locked in multiple official visits for the fall, source tells @247Sports
— Dushawn London (@DushawnLondon1) August 13, 2025
Story: https://t.co/FPrZc3Xs3T pic.twitter.com/Qyg7pTTf9w
Needless to say, this is a massive recruitment for the Illini. Holmes is a 6-foot-6, 195-pound small forward from Millennium High School in Arizona. He is rated as a five-star recruit and ranked as the No. 25 player in the class of 2026. He is also the No. 10 small forward and the No. 5 player coming out of Arizona.
Cameron Holmes is the star that Illinois basketball needs to lead the program
Illinois is going through a bit of a transition starting the 2025-26 season. We lost our five-star forward. The elite point guard who led the backcourt last season is gone, too. There will be some adjustments here in a few months.
On top of adjustments this season, most of the roster will probably be gone after the upcoming campaign. Illinois is going to need a superstar, and that is where Holmes comes into play.
Holmes would come into the Illinois program and start from day one. The Illini always need a slasher who is extremely athletic and can get to the rim. That is what Holmes would bring to the table. He also has the ability to shoot from long range, and that will continue to develop.
Illinois is closing in on landing a five-star recruit. It is a big deal that we can compete in these big-time recruitments. Let’s close the deal and keep building.