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Illinois Women's Basketball Signs International Forward Lana Brenjo: What It Means

Like her counterparts in the Illini men's hoops program, Shauna Green and her staff are tapping into the international women's talent pipeline
Jared Shlensky|
Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Shauna Green calls out to her team Friday, March 6, 2026, during a Big Ten women's basketball tournament game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Illinois Fighting Illini head coach Shauna Green calls out to her team Friday, March 6, 2026, during a Big Ten women's basketball tournament game at Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis. | Grace Smith/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

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Illinois Fighting Illini

Doesn't matter if it's the men or women: If you can hoop, regardless of where you're from, Illinois basketball will recruit you. Brad Underwood currently has four international players on his roster, and now Shauna Green has added a fifth to her women's club after landing forward Lana Brenjo on Wednesday.

Who is Lana Brenjo?

The 6-foot-4 swing forward is from Nevesinje, Bosnia, and has played for Serbia in each of the past two FIBA under-18 women's Eurobasket events. With the ZKK Mega Superbet Club last year, Brenjo averaged 7.2 points, 5.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists.

Lana Brenjo scouting report

Brenjo has good size by nearly any standard – but especially within the context of Illinois' recent talent. She will likely step into the Illini locker room and immediately become the team's most skilled frontcourt player.

Offensively, Brenjo does most of her damage around the basket, but she's got some range and is a nifty passer. Defensively, she has some limitations on the perimeter as an on-ball defender, but she does a nice job of controlling the glass and consistently blocking shots without fouling.

If she gets faster and adds more strength to her long frame, Brenjo has a chance to develop into a future All-American as a junior or senior and potentially play in the WNBA. She's that talented and versatile.

How Brenjo fits at Illinois

Overall, this is a sneaky-good signing by Green. Illinois desperately needed more size – again, particularly more skilled size – and Brenjo solves that problem.

The Illini return all five starters from last season's squad that finished 22-12 and made it to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. Brenjo, who arrives in Champaign with four years of eligibility, should have an impact right away but likely will start out as Illinois' go-to post player off the bench.

Brenjo can play multiple positions in the frontcourt, but she may have the most value for the Illini at center. Lety Vasconcelos, at 6-foot-7, has excellent size but isn't as mobile or versatile as Brenjo. At the very least, the combination of the two gives Green loads more flexibility to match up as needed and put pressure on opponents in new ways.

Even after a year of seasoning for last year's freshman class, the Illini remain exceptionally young: The projected rotation contains only two seniors, and sophomores-to-be Cearah Parchment and Destiny Jackson are top contributors. Green clearly won't hesitate to play Brenjo if and when she's ready.

As for the long term, Brenjo should develop into a multi-year starter for the Illini, seeing time at both power forward and center.



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Jared Shlensky
JARED SHLENSKY

Jared Shlensky is a contributing writer for On SI and a freelance play-by-play broadcaster. Jared was previously a sports betting writer for Yardbarker, an On-Air YouTube Personality for the Sports Geek and a minor league play-by-play broadcaster.

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