Illinois Women's Basketball Schedules Visit With Top-50 2026 Recruit

The Illini will welcome GiGi Battle – a 5-foot-11 guard from Florida – to Champaign in late June

Feb 25, 2024; Iowa City, Iowa, USA; Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Shauna Green reacts against the Iowa Hawkeyes during the fourth quarter at Carver-Hawkeye Arena. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images | Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

Twenty seasons had passed since Illinois women's basketball’s last NCAA Tournament berth before Shauna Green led the Illini to a 22-win season and an appearance in the Big Dance in 2022-23, her first year at the helm.

Two seasons later, despite a flurry of serious injuries, the Illini still managed to earn an invite to the NCAA Tournament – and then win the program’s first tournament game in 25 years.

The best part?

Green and her crew are just getting started.

Illinois is bringing in an unbelievably loaded class of 2025, which includes three top-50 recruits (and a total of four top-100 recruits), headlined by point guard Destiny Jackson – the reigning Illinois Ms. Basketball and 29th overall prospect in the nation, per ESPN HoopGurlz.

Naturally, there’s always more work to do. And with the 2025 roster-building seemingly taken care of, the Illini have turned their attention to 2026 – and GiGi Battle.

A 5-foot-11 guard from Florida, Battle is ranked as the No. 44 recruit in the country. According to Talia Goodman of On3 Sports, Battle has scheduled five upcoming visits – one of them to Champaign. She has already taken a visit to Michigan, and has scheduled dates for Stanford, Rutgers, Georgia and Indiana, along with Illinois (June 25-27).

NEWS: Top 2026 recruit GiGi Battle has set several official visits, she told @On3sports.

Stanford - June 23
Illinois - June 25
Rutgers - Aug. 4
Georgia - Sept. 26
Indiana - Oct. 16
Ohio State - TBD

She broke down her recruitment here.

READ (On3+): https://t.co/rVvRTNqdi6 pic.twitter.com/jZwvVBDrRE

— Talia Goodman (@TaliaGoodmanWBB) May 30, 2025

Although Battle hasn’t officially set a visit with Ohio State, she also plans to hit Columbus, according to Goodman. With a handful of other high-major programs also involved, the Illini will have their hands full in Battle’s recruitment, but with Green’s proven track record, Illinois is certainly in the mix.

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