Illinois basketball news: Ty Rodgers out indefinitely to start 2025 season

NEWS: Per Illinois head coach Brad Underwood, Ty Rodgers is out indefinitely to start the 2025 season after suffering a significant knee injury during an offseason pickup game. Rodgers required surgery, and has remained in his home state, Michigan. This is a pretty significant blow to the Illini’s roster as Rodgers was expected to take on a sizeable role. Ty started every game during the 2023-2024 season, however, chose to redshirt the 2024-2025 season to work on his game.

His decision to return was a surprise to many after the redshirt, however, he was expected to add athleticism, toughness and rebounding. Ty Rodgers also served as a leader on and off the court which would have been helpful on a team with a lot of newcomers.

What next after losing Ty Rodgers?

Rodgers was slotted to play at least 20 minutes per game. With a knee injury requiring surgery, the timeline has to be at least 6-8 months which takes us to the middle/late part of the season. Without Rodgers, Ben Humrichous and newcomer David Mirkovic will have to step into larger roles. Additionally, rising junior Andrej Stojakovic will have to play as well as he did at Cal for the Illini.

In terms of intangibles, returners Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, and Jake Davis will have to keep the team together and running smoothly. Rodgers is arguably the best athlete on the Illini roster. They lose quite a bit of defensive versatility and rebounding prowess, however, have the pieces to help lessen the blow.

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