Top Transfer Guard Andrej Stojakovic Commits to Illinois

Stojakovic is the son of NBA star Peja, who retired in 2011.
California guard Andrej Stojakovic looks on during a game.
California guard Andrej Stojakovic looks on during a game. / Eakin Howard-Imagn Images

After one season at California, Andrej Stojakovic committed to Illinois for the 2025-26 season on Monday.

Stojakovic is the son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic, who retired from the sport in Dec. 2011. He played 13 seasons in the NBA and won a title with the Dallas Mavericks in his final year.

The young Stojakovic was one of the best available players in the transfer portal after his stellar sophomore season with the Golden Bears. He originally started with Stanford, then transferred to California last offseason. During the 2024-25 season, Stojakovic averaged 17.9 points, 4.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists per game.

Stojakovic was considering going back to Stanford for his junior season or even transferring to North Carolina, but he ended up with Illinois and coach Brad Underwood, for whom he had some high praise.

"I think the main reasons were pretty clear to my inner circle as a basketball fit," Stojakovic told ESPN. "Coach Underwood has been very aggressive recruiting me from the start and constantly reiterating how much I'm wanted and needed as a basketball player there. They really believe I'm the missing piece to what they think is a national championship team."

Stojakovic hopes to bring Illinois its first NCAA title in program history while he's there. The Fighting Illini lost in the second round of the tournament this year.


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Madison Williams
MADISON WILLIAMS

Madison Williams is a staff writer on the Breaking and Trending News team at Sports Illustrated, where she specializes in tennis but covers a wide range of sports from a national perspective. Before joining SI in 2022, Williams worked at The Sporting News. Having graduated from Augustana College, she completed a master’s in sports media at Northwestern University. She is a dog mom and an avid reader.