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Adam Rittenberg
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — There was a hint of exasperation in Brad Underwood’s voice as he ran through the well-worn tropes about Keaton Wagler. The Illinois coach is sensitive to minimizing Wagler’s journey, or separating him from the group of freshmen who have taken over the men’s college basketball season and will be the talk of the 2026 NBA draft.
«I’m tired of hearing about his high school [recruiting] ranking, I’m tired of hearing about he’s 170 pounds when he got here, and he’s physically skinny and weak,» Underwood told ESPN. «He’s none of those things anymore. If the story is that everybody missed on him, we didn’t. I’m tired of hearing that, too. We found him. He fit us.
«This is what college sports is all about, this type of situation.»
Wagler’s path to stardom didn’t start like that of Kansas’ Darryn Peterson, BYU’s AJ Dybantsa, Duke’s Cameron Boozer or North Carolina’s Caleb Wilson. They were top-five recruits. Wagler didn’t crack the SC Next 100. They were expected to make immediate impacts. Wagler joined an Illinois team that spent the offseason touting its European stars, not a wispy 6-foot-6 freshman guard from Kansas.
But four months into the season, Wagler has earned his way into the company of the nation’s elite players. He leads No. 10 Illinois in scoring (18.2 per game), assists (4.3), steals (0.9) and minutes (33.3) entering Friday’s home showdown against No. 3 Michigan. He delivered one of the best single-game performances in Big Ten history with a 46-point effort in the Jan. 24 road win against then-No. 4 Purdue — the most points by any Big Ten freshman over the past 30 seasons. He’s No. 6 on ESPN’s latest NBA draft big board, a potential lottery pick just like the other ballyhooed freshmen.
«Everyone has to run their own race,» said Illinois assistant coach Tyler Underwood, Brad’s son and Wagler’s primary recruiter. «It’s a very unique story.»
Wagler’s story is one of a youngest child who grew up in a basketball-obsessed family that sharpened his game. A story of an accelerated basketball mind with a late-blooming body that delayed interest from high-major programs. A story of loyalty to the teams and coaches who believed in him.
A story of proving he belongs.
«He’s just a good, wholesome Midwest kid,» Brad Underwood said. «He has the simplest values, loves life and loves basketball.»
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Similar things happened in high school. Shawnee Mission Northwest annually made the state tournament, went undefeated and won a state title in Keaton’s junior season (2023-24), and it repeated as champ in his senior season (2024-25).
Keaton played his final three high school seasons with Ethan Taylor, a top-50 recruit in the 2026 class who signed with Michigan State and was courted by other high-major programs, including Kansas. The same attention didn’t come Keaton’s way.
«Everyone in the United States saw us play,» Birch said. «Most of the feedback [was], they pegged [Keaton] as a mid-major kid. They didn’t think he was quite strong enough, and they didn’t think he was an elite athlete, so they weren’t sure he was a Power 5 player.»
Wagler’s success did open potential alternative paths. Several prep schools reached out, but he never thought of leaving home. He considered shoe-brand-affiliated AAU teams in the area but stuck with VWBA Elite.
Loyalty is baked in for Wagler, who has had the same girlfriend since his freshman year of high school.
«That’s really what life is, building good relationships,» he said. «There’s no really better way of showing that you like someone other than staying loyal. I just believed in my AAU coach, knowing that I trust him and everything will work out fine. If you can play, the coaches are going to find you.»
Tomislav Ivisic and Zvonimir Ivisic; forward David Mirkovic, guard Mihailo Petrovic and transfer guard Andrej Stojakovic, son of NBA All-Star Peja Stojakovic. The Ivisic twins, Mirkovic and Petrovic had played professionally overseas.
Underwood embraced the campaign, even briefly changing his X avatar to a meme showing him in an orange tracksuit, crouching before Balkanized apartment slabs.
Without a clear immediate need to fill, Wagler said he had «no clue» what his role would be, so he viewed the summer as a platform to prove himself. By mid-July, senior guard Kylan Boswell was sitting in Underwood’s office, praising Wagler.
«He used the term ‘cold,'» Underwood said. «He goes, ‘Coach, he’s really cold. There’s nothing he doesn’t have.'»
National Player of the Year candidate and top NBA prospect.
Pro scouts have mentioned to Brad Underwood some of the game’s top names when evaluating Wagler: Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, Tyrese Haliburton, even Stephen Curry. The Illini coach sees elements of those stars in Wagler’s game, but his path — especially how quickly he has risen — doesn’t have many comps.
«He’s one of the greatest stories in a long, long time,» Underwood said. «I had some guy tell me Tracy McGrady, 30 years ago, kind of showed up at a camp and blew up. That’s what this is about.»
There are several examples of one-and-done international players who weren’t rated as SC Next 100 recruits and became NBA lottery picks because they didn’t go to high school in the United States, but few Americans who weren’t on that top-100 radar went on to crack the lottery. Since the 2008 draft, Dennis Smith Jr. (2017) and Bub Carrington (2024) are the only U.S.-born players to have made the jump, according to ESPN Research.
«Everyone has their own past, no matter if you’re the best player growing up or you’re not, if you’re a late bloomer,» Wagler said. «You work hard, you get better, and then you get to the point where you know you’re as good as these players.
«It just shows that there’s not one path. There’s not a set way for you to go.»
