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Welcome to “Good Morning, Illini Nation,” your daily dose of college basketball news from Illini beat writer and AP Top 25 voter Scott Richey. He’ll offer up insights every morning on Brad Underwood’s team and college basketball at large:
Yesterday provided a look at the ranked prospects in the Class of 2027 on Illinois’ recruiting board. Today? A breakdown of uncommitted top 100 recruits in the Class of 2026, per the 247Sports Composite, that hold or have held an Illini offer.
Are they all being pursued equally? No. Are some of them Chester Frazier offers more likely to wind up in Blacksburg, Va., than Champaign in a year’s time? Sure. Does high school recruiting even matter? Maybe not all that much.
But these are at least some names to remember:
8. Miikka Muurinen, 6-10, PF
13. Toni Bryant, 6-9, PF
Bryant was a stat sheet stuffer at North Tampa Christian Academy (Fla.). The five-star forward averaged 21 points, 11.8 rebounds, 6.5 blocks and 2.1 assists for the 24-7 Titans.
14. Alex Constanza, 6-8, SF
Constanza is one of Illinois’ top targets in the 2026 class. The five-star wing missed the first seven games of his junior season at Westminster Academy (Fla.) after suffering a broken wrist, but he still averaged 29.8 points, 11 rebounds and five assists for the year.
16. Taylen Kinney, 6-1, PG
19. Deron Rippey Jr., 6-2, PG
20. Qayden Samuels, 6-5, SF
28. Chidi Nwigwe, 6-7, SF
Nwigwe’s first season at Sunrise Christian Academy (Kan.) after transferring from St. Benedict’s (N.J.) was a successful one. He helped the Buffaloes go 18-7 and averaged 14 points, four rebounds and two assists.
32. Adam Oumiddoch, 6-5, SG
Oumiddoch, who is originally from Virginia, has played the last two years for Cold Hearts in Overtime Elite. He averaged 17.1 points, six rebounds and three assists this past season.
33. Cole Cloer, 6-8, SF
38. Felipe Quinones, 6-4, CG
41. Sam Funches, 6-11, C
Funches was part of a historic season at Germantown (Miss.). The Mavericks went 29-5 and won a Class 7A title — the first state championship in program history.
53. Jonathan Sanderson, 6-2, PG
Sanderson moved to Ensworth (Tenn.) for his junior season after his dad, Jon, got the job as Vanderbilt’s strength and conditioning coach. The younger Sanderson was a Division II-AA Mr. Basketball finalist after putting up 24 points, 6.2 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game. He might be on the move again after his dad was hired by Notre Dame earlier this month.
57. Brandon Bass Jr., 6-4, SG
64. Steven Reynolds, 6-5, SG
67. Marcis Ponder, 6-11, C
Ponder moved from playing in Overtime Elite in 2023-24 to West Oaks Academy (Fla.) this past season. The physical big man put up 9.8 points, 9.6 rebounds and two blocks per game for the Flame.
70. Arafan Diane, 7-1, C
77. Parker Robinson, 6-5, CG
83. Brannon Martinsen, 6-7, SF
84. Sinan Huan, 7-0, C
#Good #Morning #Illini #Nation #Updated #recruiting #board #Sports
