The college basketball world is now about six years into the transfer portal, and Illinois has adjusted pretty well.
Brad Underwood, just a couple of years into the Illini job, had a curveball thrown into the mix. The transfer portal became a thing, and a coach who had years under his belt had to adjust. What did Underwood do? Took the transfer portal in stride and did a great job molding into the new college landscape.
Illinois has had some impressive recruiting classes since the transfer portal heated up. But heading into the 2025 season, 247Sports doesn’t think the Illini class of 2025 is all that impressive.
As it sits right now, the Illinois class of 2025 is ranked No. 43 in the country. This includes a composite ranking of No. 57 and a transfer portal ranking of No. 45.
The transfer portal started in October 2018, so we were pretty late into the class of 2019 when it started up, so I am counting the class of 2020 as the first real recruiting class with the transfer portal baked in. With that being the case, Illinois’ class of 2025 is the worst recruiting class Underwood has brought in since the transfer portal started.
Illinois has a nice mix of talent coming into the program for 2025, though. There are two high school four-star players coming in, both either on the wing or in the backcourt. Underwood then went out and snagged two overseas players who have extensive experience playing against high-level competition.
Needing some big-time playing experience at the college level, Illinois then brought in two four-star transfer portal players who are both likely going to start from day one. On top of the big additions, Underwood addressed all of the positions on the court, too. We didn’t just add quality talent, but the depth of the program improved greatly.
Illinois’ second-worst transfer portal era recruiting class turned out pretty good
For me, I am not worried one bit about the No. 43 overall recruiting ranking. That is just a pure speculation number, as I think Illinois did a great job filling needs and getting quality players.
Throughout the transfer portal era, what was the second-worst class for the Illini? The class of 2023.
Illinois pulled in the No. 37 class in the country in 2023. This included the No. 29 composite ranking and the No. 41 transfer portal ranking.
The funny thing about the class of 2023 is that it was buoyed by the incoming freshmen on paper, but all four freshmen labeled as “enrollees” are no longer with the program. Three of the players transferred out and one never even played.
The transfer portal group, which ranked No. 41 in the country, were the foundation of an Elite 8 team. Quincy Guerrier and Marcus Domask were huge in the deepest NCAA tournament run for the Orange and Blue since 2005. Justin Harmon was also a solid piece in that group.
So, while the rankings say one thing, basketball is played on the court. It isn’t played in the rankings or on paper. Underwood has his “worst” class in the transfer portal era, but the last time this happened, Illinois went to the Elite 8. Hopefully, this upcoming season has the same fate or even better.