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Illini guard Keaton Wagler makes ballot for John Wooden Award

Wagler is in the midst of one of the best freshmen seasons in Illini basketball history.

Published

6 months ago

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The Illini freshman star, Keaton Wagler.
Credit to David Pollak @mushlik; Staff Photographer at Armchair Illini

Keaton Wagler has been named to the top-15 finalist lists for the NCAA John Wooden Award. The Wooden Award is given to the most outstanding men’s basketball player regardless of their year in college. Wagler, who was ranked 261 overall prospect in the 247sports composite rankings, has averaged 18.1 points, 5.0 rebounds, and 4.3 assists per game while shooting 42 percent from the three-point line.

His 46-point performance in Mackey Arena was arguably the most dominant performance by a college freshman and immediately solidified his status as one of the best freshmen in the country. As it stands right now, Keaton Wagler is a unanimous lottery pick in the 2026 NBA Draft. He is currently in the midst of the best freshman season by an Illini basketball player ever. Considering some of the names on this list, all of the Illini nation should certainly be proud to have Keaton Wagler in the Orange and Blue.

The full list

  1. Darius Acuff Jr., Arkansas
  2. Christian Anderson, Texas Tech
  3. Cameron Boozer, Duke
  4. AJ Dybantsa, BYU
  5. Jeremy Fears Jr., Michigan State
  6. Kingston Flemings, Houston
  7. Thomas Haugh, Florida
  8. Graham Ike, Gonzaga
  9. Joshua Jefferson, Iowa State
  10. Yaxel Lendborg, Michigan
  11. Labaron Philon Jr., Alabama
  12. Braden Smith, Purdue
  13. JT Toppin, Texas Tech
  14. Keaton Wagler, Illinois
  15. Caleb Wilson, North Carolina.

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Alex is the Owner of Armchairillini.com, your go-to source for in depth coverage of the Illinois Fighting Illini. Alex is also the head of content creation and editing on Armchair Illini. His expertise has landed articles featured in top media publications like Bleacher Report, YardBarker, Verbal Commits, CBS Sports and more.

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