Illinois Basketball Loses Reserve for Remainder of 2025-26 Season

The Illini's frontcourt depth will be drained by the absence of injured forward Jason Jakstys, who has been ruled out for the rest of 2025-26

Dec 9, 2025; Columbus, Ohio, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood reacts to a call during the first half against the Ohio State Buckeyes Value City Arena. Mandatory Credit: Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images | Joseph Maiorana-Imagn Images

For all the talk of Illinois’ depth, there hasn’t been much of it on display lately this season. Sure, the Illini have firepower and versatility across the board – but that’s among the eight players who actually see the floor.

Just eight Illini play more than 10 minutes per game. Point guard Mihailo Petrovic is just outside of that group, playing 7.1 minutes per outing. But especially of late, Petrovic’s stints tend to be either extremely short-lived (one minute at Purdue) or only in garbage time.

And ever since Illinois lost Kylan Boswell to injury (expected back in mid-February), head coach Brad Underwood’s rotation has become tighter than an Eagle Scout knot.

Illinois forward Jason Jakstys ruled out remainder of 2025-26 season

Mar 20, 2025; Milwaukee, WI, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini forward Jason Jakstys (31) shoots the ball during NCAA Tournament First Round Practiceat Fiserv Forum. Mandatory Credit: Benny Sieu-Imagn Images | Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

In Illinois most recent outing – a home win over Washington – Underwood went just seven deep. Without Boswell, not to mention swingman Ty Rodgers, Illinois is running short on healthy bodies. Unfortunately, the Illini will be down another player: Underwood announced Saturday that forward Jason Jakstys, a redshirt freshman, will be sidelined for the remainder of the season.

“Jason’s had a blood clot in his shoulder that he is dealing with some issues with," Underwood said.
"And some procedures as we move forward will be dealt with in the future. So we will miss him and everything that he provides, which is a great deal for us in terms of practice. … He’s a terrific player who we’re definitely going to miss.”

Jakstys plays just 5.3 minutes per game, but that's more a reflection of Illinois holding up nicely in the frontcourt than it is of the 6-foot-10 forward's importance to the team. The Illini have had good fortune in terms of health and foul trouble at the 4 and 5 spots, and if that were to change, they would instantly feel Jakstys' absence.

Jason Jakstys’ first career points for @IlliniMBB came on a highlight dunk 🎬 pic.twitter.com/O5sCHwSBgc

— Big Ten Men's Basketball (@B1GMBBall) November 4, 2025

A native of Yorkville, Illinois, Jakstys is routinely lauded by Underwood for his rim protection and rebounding. (He has the best rebounding percentage on the team, at 19.7 percent.) Although Jakstys hasn’t been a bona fide star in his game action, his high-level defense and glass-cleaning ability undoubtedly put pressure on the Illini forwards (David Mirkovic, Ben Humrichous, the Ivisic twins) to compete up to a certain standard in practice.

In the meantime, the pressure will fall on Humrichous to fill any gaps in the Illinois frontcourt and, if anything, further step up as a rebounder and post defender in Jakstys' absence.