Illinois' Brad Underwood Reveals the Moment He Knew Keaton Wagler Was Special

Just like everyone else, Illini coach Underwood didn't know right away how good Wagler is – but he remembers when it happened

Jan 24, 2026; West Lafayette, Indiana, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini guard Keaton Wagler (23) dribbles past Purdue Boilermakers center Daniel Jacobsen (12) during the first half at Mackey Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images | Jacob Musselman-Imagn Images

Illinois coach Brad Underwood, and even some veteran Illini, were buzzing with excitement this past offseason about an unheralded freshman: guard Keaton Wagler. Given those not-so-quiet whispers around Champaign, Wagler – an overlooked high school recruit (only two high-major offers) – was expected to outplay his ranking. But not quite like this. 

And to chalk up such a find to Underwood being some sort of otherworldly talent evaluator with near-psychic future-telling abilities would be far from the truth, even if he and his staff have some of the best eyes for talent in the game.

Even in the aftermath of Wagler's superb summer, Underwood didn’t know exactly what he was getting from the 6-foot-6 guard.

Illinois' Brad Underwood knew Keaton Wagler was good - but this good?

Jan 8, 2026; Champaign, Illinois, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Brad Underwood greets the crowd before he first half against the Rutgers Scarlet Knights at State Farm Center. Mandatory Credit: Ron Johnson-Imagn Images | Ron Johnson-Imagn Images

“No, anybody would say that’s lying,” Underwood told the media on Wednesday, in response to being asking if he expected this – this being a 46-point showing at Mackey Arena and 17.5-point, 5.0-rebound and 4.0-assist averages from Wagler – heading into the season.

“The hardest thing with freshmen is understanding what it’s like in the moment. … Even in the summer – the summer’s a little more laid back and a little more chill, so to speak, and you’re only on the court a small amount of time. But until you can really grind on them, until you can really get them in practice and get them fatigued and get them tired, get them day after day after day to find out who they are, you don’t know.

“We knew we were getting a really good player – that became very evident this summer. But the mental part, the component that is there, the toughness, that’s been beyond anything that I would have expected."

The moment Brad Underwood knew he had a future star in Keaton Wagler

But there had to be some point when Underwood had an inkling – even just a brief, fleeting thought that Wagler was on the precipice of an exceptional freshman year. And there was: Just days before Illinois’ regular season officially tipped off, Underwood had a revelation that Wagler was the real deal – although it took Underwood and his staff a bit of time to decipher how to best utilize Wagler’s skill set. 

“We knew he was good this summer when he was going against Kylan Boswell,” Underwood told Andy Katz on Wednesday. “I knew it was a different level [when] we scrimmaged Florida in what was just a gross scrimmage. It was physical. It was hard. It was nasty. It was just very, very intense. Final Four-like in a scrimmage. And it was just so physical. And he held his own. And he didn’t back down. So I knew the toughness piece then was going to kick in.

“Then, we had to figure out how to use him – whether it was on the ball [or] off the ball. We played UConn early, I think he was in 10 percent of our actions in that game. He wasn’t even a factor, and we had Kylan on the ball. And we made the change [to put Wagler on the ball], and he’s just continually grown from that time.

"But when he didn’t back down in the Florida game was the first inclination I had that this could be a pretty good one.”