Illini guard Keaton Wagler snubbed in Field of 68 All-Freshmen teams

Illini guard Keaton Wagler had an incredible month of December. Through four games thus far, Wagler has averaged 20.0 points, 4.8 rebounds, and 6.0 assists per game. He has done this with incredible efficiency, 50 percent from the field and 53 percent from three-point land. Due to this stellar play, Wagler has become a hot topic amongst NBA draft analysts as he is slowly making his way into the middle of the first round in NBA mock drafts. However, it seems that Wagler does not have everyone’s attention just yet. The Field of 68 produced some mid-season All-Freshmen teams and notably left Wagler off of the 10 freshmen on their list.

Understandably, Keaton did not make the All-Freshman first team, considering the exceptional talent in this year’s freshman pool. However, the Field of 68 notably chose Stanford guard Ebuka Okorie and Virginia Tech’s Neoklis Avdalas on their second team. As I said, this year’s freshmen pool is undeniably talented, hence someone was bound to get snubbed. I decided to compile stats for Keaton Wagler, Ebuka Okorie, and Neoklis Avdalas for comparison

https://t.co/GiJS9Dc1no pic.twitter.com/uf92sdv8Lq

— Armchair Illinois (@ArmchairIllini) December 26, 2025

Neoklis Avdalas, Ebuka Okorie, and Keaton Wagler vs top-100 KenPom Teams

Neoklis Avdalas: 6 games vs Top-100 KenPom teams, averaging 14.3 points, 4.2 rebounds, and 4.7 assists on 47.0% FG and 42.3% from 3pt line.

Ebuka Okorie: 3 games vs Top-100 KenPom teams averaging 24.7 points, 2.7 rebounds, and 3.0 assists on 37.5% FG and 35% from 3pt line

 Keaton Wagler: 7 games vs Top-100 KenPom teams averaging 14.6 points, 4.3 rebounds, and 3.7 assists on 43.4% FG and 46% from 3pt line.

As we can see above, the stats from the three freshmen are very impressive. The case could certainly be made for Wagler over Okorie, as he has played stiffer competition and has been far more efficient and useful in other categories. Avdalas has certainly been impressive; however, his stats are skewed by a 33-point performance in the second game of the season vs the Providence Friars. Since that game, Avdalas has not been great in games against Top-100 KenPom teams. Keaton Wagler has had a different trajectory, meaning he struggled in the early season games vs tougher competition, but has been absolutely stellar as of late.

Regardless, Keaton Wagler is cementing his case as a possible NBA Draft prospect. As teams started to scout Wagler and attempt to expose his weaknesses, I expect that draft buzz to calm down a little bit. However, there is no doubt that Wagler is one of the most intriguing prospects at just 18 years old. I think that there can be a strong argument for Keaton to return for a sophomore season at Illinois to work on his frame and finishing around the rim.

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