Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic Are Set to Run It Back at Illinois

The key attributes that made the 2025-26 Illinois men's basketball team historically special – its size, its sweet-shooting bigs and its Balkan flavor – will be back on the menu in Champaign next season.

At Wednesday's annual Kickin' Cancer fundraiser hosted by Illini coach Brad Underwood, among others, the club received some of the biggest news possible when 7-foot twin brothers Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic announced they would return to the program in 2026-27. They will join Jake Davis, who also announced at the event, and David Mirkovic, who announced separately earlier Wednesday.

The Original Balkan is back. pic.twitter.com/Wu3dIvRKUX
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) April 16, 2026

Bigger things are coming for Big Z in Champaign. pic.twitter.com/ydIF9ph5lZ
— Illinois Men's Basketball (@IlliniMBB) April 16, 2026

The flurry of declarations ends two weeks of speculation about the future of the program following its outstanding 2026 Final Four run. With only Andrej Stojakovic left to make a decision among the Illini's remaining core with available eligibility (Keaton Wagler will enter the NBA Draft), Underwood appears poised to make the wait for his second career Final Four a very short one.

The impact of the Ivisic twins' return for Illinois

Tomislav Ivisic was the first to arrive at Illinois, in 2024, turning in a fantastic debut college season (he was declared a sophomore by the NCAA) and setting lofty expectations for his 2025-26 follow-up.

He never quite delivered, often seemingly struggling to find a consistent niche in a loaded lineup that would go long stretches without taking advantage of his exceptional combination of scoring and playmaking on the block. Ivisic had his moments this past season (most notably in a win over Northwestern, a narrow regular-season loss to Wisconsin and an NCAA Tournament win over VCU), but his scoring (10.4), assists (1.6) and three-point shooting (31.7 percent) declined sharply. Worse, his rebounding (5.6) did as well.

But any keen basketball observer who has watched Tomislav play over the past two seasons would have agreed that he was a vital part of any Illinois retention efforts. His ability, at 7-foot-1, to do most things well on the floor – particularly launch from long range, when he is shooting with confidence – is a key to the Illini's offensive scheme. He also is a difference-making rebounder and rim protector when at his best, and he is a quiet but important program leader.

"I'm back," Tomislav Ivisic announced at tonight's Kickin' Cancer fundraiser at Gordyville USA after chugging a Bud Light that a fan supplied him with.

That was bookended by Jake Davis and Zvonimir Ivisic announcing that they'll return for the 2026-27 season too. #Illini pic.twitter.com/aRpqWpePII
— Joey Wright (@JoeyWright2000) April 16, 2026

Zvonimir stands 7-foot-2 and is a shooting threat beyond the arc, but that's roughly where the similarities end between his game and that of his minutes-younger twin. Big Z arrived in Champaign, built up his body and delivered uncommon athleticism in a 7-foot package, but he was ultimately a 3-and-D player.

Not that there was anything wrong with that. Though Zvonimir shot just 28.0 percent from three in 2025-26, after knocking down 37.6 percent in previous stints at Kentucky and Arkansas, he stretched defenses and was an excellent finisher on the break and halfcourt lobs. He was also a terror of a shot blocker, swatting 1.9 shots per game despite averaging just 17.2 minutes.

Ultimately, although they didn't share the floor often, the Ivisic twins amplify one another's value for the Illini, not only providing rare depth but also allowing Underwood to situationally deploy a skilled 7-footer based on matchups, defensive tactics and the hot hand.

With Mirkovic back on board, it's unlikely that we'll see a huge uptick in minutes featuring Illinois' twin towers simultaneously, but perhaps Underwood will tinker with a jumbo lineup that moves Mirk to "small" forward and gives the Illini unprecedented rebounding firepower and defensive length without compromising any shooting or playmaking.

In any case, two of the biggest – well, technically the two biggest – pieces will return for a final season in Champaign to again give Underwood the sort of frontcourt size, shooting and skill that defined last season's Final Four run. At this stage, there seems to be nothing holding the Illini back from pushing for yet another appearance on college basketball's culminating weekend.

Add us as a preferred source on Google