Illinois Achieves Biggest Goal of Offseason with Roster Retention

The Illini are off to a perfect start this offseason and hoping for more good news

Apr 4, 2026; Indianapolis, IN, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts after a play against the UConn Huskies during the first half of a semifinal of the Final Four of the men's 2026 NCAA Tournament at Lucas Oil Stadium. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

Illinois is looking to maintain its momentum after making its first Final Four run since 2005 and the biggest key for the Illini was roster retention and that goal was hit on Wednesday.

First, it was David Mirkovic that announced his return to the program, putting the NBA Draft off for at least another season, after averaging 13.3 points, 8.0 rebounds, and 2.6 assists per game on 48.4-percent shooting. Mirkovic will try and kill the void left by Keaton Wagler, who is off to the NBA Draft after a sensational freshman season.

Then, it was the depth that announced their returns to the Illini in Tomislav Ivisic, Zvonimir Ivisic, and Jake Davis.

Tomislav Ivisic returns the most production out of the trio with 10.4 points and 5.6 rebounds while Zvonimir Ivisic and Davis combined to average 11.8 points and 6.7 rebounds.

Davis started 22-of-37 games for the Illini this season while Ivisic provided size and length off the bench with 1.9 blocks per game and one of the best center duos in the country.

Illinois is still awaiting the NBA Draft decision from Andrej Stojakovic, who shined in the postseason for the Illini and finished his first year in Champaign by averaging 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds but struggled shooting the ball at only 24.4-percent from 3-point range.

The 6-foot-7 wing started his career at Cal before stopping at Stanford prior to his arrival at Illinois.

The Illini already landed Providence transfer Stefan Vaaks, who displayed an incredible shooting form during his freshman season with the Friars although, at times, he was inconsistent.

Vaaks shot 35-percent from deep this season but went 13-for-22 from the outside in the Big East Tournament.

Illinois is not resting on its success from last season, in fact, they are trying to take the next step to winning a National Championship and bringing back the core of one of its most successful teams is the perfect start to the offseason.