Was Keaton Wagler almost an Iowa Hawkeye? Coach Ben McCollum weighs in

It is no secret that Illini basketball has a star guard in freshman Keaton Wagler. Wagler has already been having a stellar freshman campaign, but his historic performance at Mackey Arena really sparked national discussion and awareness. Every game this year, Keaton has impressed everyone, and the story gets told time and time again. “Wagler had two high major offers only, Illinois and Minnesota.

Commentators have always made it seem like Keaton was a gem out of nowhere that just fell into Illinois’s lap. For the most part, this is true, as Keaton Wagler did not play on a major AAU team or on a nationally renowned high school club. However, he was recruited by a few current Big Ten coaches, including Iowa head coach Ben McCollum.

“We thought we were going to get him.”

“When we were at Drake, we might have been the first division-one [school] to offer him. We offered him well before Illinois… At the last tournament he played in, he played great in the championship, and then Illinois ended up offering him. We thought we were going to get him at Drake, to be perfectly honest.”

Sounds like Keaton Wagler was rather close to being a Drake Bulldog, and had he committed, he may have been an Iowa Hawkeye, given the fact that McCollum brought a lot of players from Drake with him to Iowa City. Imagine that, Illini fans, if Keaton Wagler had an Iowa Hawkeyes jersey on instead of the Orange and Blue. Kudos to Tyler Underwood for finding Keaton and preventing this nightmare situation from happening!

Ben McCollum answers question on his radio show tonight about recruiting Keaton Wagler, who scored 46 for Illinois Saturday at Purdue. pic.twitter.com/R4Uo6CtEdJ

— Ben Schuff (@BRSchuff) January 27, 2026

_____________________

Thank you for reading Armchair Illini! The Armchair team is proud to partner with Hamilton Walker’s Seafood and Spirits. Reserve your table HERE. Enter our home game giveaways on our social media pages to win a $50 gift card.

We are also proud to partner with the Campus Ink Illini NIL Store! Use the code: ARMCHAIRILLINI for 15% off your purchase. Please subscribe to the Armchair Illini Podcast on YouTube here.

Above all, for feedback, questions, concerns, or to apply for a writing position, please email our Publisher at alexkyi13@gmail.com. Additionally, please use our Seatgeek code for $20 off your purchase on Seatgeek.com: ARMCHAIRILLINOIS. It is because of your support that we have become one of the fastest-growing Illinois media outlets around.

Finally, subscribe to our newsletter here for more Illinois news! Go Illini!