Zavier Zens' Visit Signals Illinois May Not Be Done With 2026 Recruiting

The Illini, who had seemingly closed the door on 2026 recruiting, are reopening that door and keying on Zavier Zens

Wisconsin Lutheran's Zavier Zens (23) celebrates his team's 57-55 victory over Marshfield in the WIAA Division 1 state championship game, Saturday, March 22, 2025, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wis. | Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Back in November, Illinois coach Brad Underwood said that he and his staff “felt three [incoming recruits] was a really good number” from the class of 2026. Then Keaton Wagler went and put together a spectacular – and unprecedented – campaign which has resulted in his presumed NBA departure. 

The Illini, naturally, felt the need to fill that role, and standout four-star guard Quentin Coleman, who recently de-committed from Wake Forest, fell right into their laps. That all checks out.

Illinois set to host three-star Zavier Zens for visit

Wisconsin Lutheran's Zavier Zens (23) dunks against Appleton North during their WIAA Division 1 state semifinal basketball game on Friday, March 20, 2026, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. Wisconsin Lutheran won the game, 68-61. | Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

But then Illinois went and scheduled a visit with 2026 three-star prospect Zavier Zens – which means one thing: Underwood loves what he has seen from Zens, a Wisconsin native.

Listed as a 6-foot-7 small forward, Zens has a powerful 215-pound frame, along with – you guessed it – an automatic long-distance jumper. Almost without fail, Illinois targets tend to have two key traits: positional size and shooting. Zens ticks both those boxes.

Zens has some burst, both laterally and vertically, but he is hardly a jump-out-of-the-gym athlete. He uses his size and length to get to the basket and finish at a solid rate, but he translates to the college level as a sharpshooter from deep while his downhill ability will be just supplemental.

Defensively, his size and strength, along with the solid athleticism, speak to a high floor (although most first-year players tend to face some hurdles early in the season on that end, regardless). 

Arguably, the Illini don’t have a true wing in the class of 2026 – Lucas Morillo is a Swiss Army Knife, while Landon Davis is more of a forward – meaning Zens could slot in nicely there. Then again, if Andrej Stojakovic elects to stick around (which appears to be the likely scenario), not to mention Jake Davis, it would be difficult to envision Zens landing in the rotation in Year 1. Still, he could be a redshirt candidate viewed as a long-term, high-floor player.

Illinois' competition for Zavier Zens

Wisconsin Lutheran's Zavier Zens (23) breaks around Appleton North's Ben Zdzieblowski (14) during their WIAA Division 1 state semifinal basketball game on Friday, March 20, 2026, at the Kohl Center in Madison, Wisconsin. | Scott Ash / Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

A former Northern Iowa commit, Zens backed off his pledge to the Panthers in late March following the departure of its head coach, Ben Jacobson, who has since accepted the head position at Utah State. (Illinois offered days after Zens' de-commitment.)

Senior wing Zavier Zens (6-7) of Wisconsin Lutheran has set up three visit dates for this spring ...

April 10 -- Utah State

April 12 -- Illinois

April 13 -- Wisconsin

— Mark Miller (@WisBBYearbook) April 7, 2026

Almost immediately, Zens picked up an offer from Utah State, and he is set to visit the program on April 10. He then has visits scheduled to Illinois on April 12 and Wisconsin on April 13, all per Mark Miller of Prep Hoops (reposted by Zens himself on X).