Illinois basketball is coming off a Final Four run, and what is crazy is that we followed that up with a successful start to the transfer portal season.
It is pretty awesome that Brad Underwood has embraced what college basketball is today. The Illini have a coaching staff that is great on the court, and they hit the ground running when it comes to recruiting talent. The fact that we have already landed Stefan Vaaks is huge for the program.
Illinois isn’t close to being done, though. They are throwing a ton of lines in the water to see who bites, and one of the targets that the Orange and Blue have inquired about is Rowan Brumbaugh.
This past Friday, Joe Tipton of On3.com reported on social media that Illinois is one of the multiple handfuls of teams that have shown interest in Brumbaugh.
Tulane transfer guard Rowan Brumbaugh is receiving interest from the following schools, he told @On3:
— Joe Tipton (@JoeTipton) April 10, 2026
UCLA
Cincinnati
BYU
SMU
Illinois
South Carolina
Indiana
LSU
Memphis
Baylor
Brumbaugh says he's currently on an official visit to Cincinnati. https://t.co/mlhlOC8bqo https://t.co/hfjyF2cJiI
Brumbaugh is a 6-foot-4, 190-pound point guard who is a four-star transfer portal recruit and the No. 77 transfer portal player in this cycle. He is also the No. 19 transfer portal point guard.
Entering his senior year, Brumbaugh is looking to cap off his college run with a title. He started out at Georgetown, and then the past two seasons, he spent with Tulane.
Last season with the Green Wave, Brumbaugh averaged 19.2 points, 4.9 rebounds, 3.5 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. I also like that he shot 5.3 three-pointers per game and hit them at a clip of 36.0%.
It does seem that Brumbaugh has already taken official visits to Cincinnati and South Carolina, so they are up there with the frontrunners for the talented point guard.
Illinois basketball is just kicking the tires on Rowan Brumbaugh, but we have the horses to man the backcourt
The Illini roster could always change, and the Illinois coaching staff has to be ready for that change. That is why I think we are targeting someone like Brumbaugh.
With that being said, I like what is on the roster right now. If the season started today, Illinois has the talent to not only compete for a national championship, but I think we would be the favorites.
I legitimately think Vaaks could enter next season as Illinois’ point guard. He is a big guard, but he has good handles, and he can distribute the basketball. I wouldn’t be too worried if Illinois didn’t add another point guard to the roster.
Illinois should always throw our hat in the ring when it comes to transfer portal talent. I think Underwood has positioned the program well, even if we don’t land players, though. This program is ready to make another run.
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