Why Illini freshman Keaton Wagler is ready to live up to the hype

The Keaton Wagler hype train is real! Over one year ago, Keaton Wagler was a relatively unknown name to all. Per 247sports, he was just made a four-star prospect just a few days before committing to Illinois. Other than that, the 6-foot-6 guard held offers from Minnesota, Drake, Murray State, and Southern Illinois. Wagler did not play on an AAU shoe-circuit team; hence, he was certainly overlooked. Now? I am not sure that there has been more hype around a prep prospect coming into their freshman year at Illinois. And Illinois has had some touted freshmen coming in. Think about Ayo Dosunmu, Adam Miller, Kofi Cockburn, Morez Johnson Jr., Skyy Clark, and Will Riley. All those players were at a minimum top-40 overall prospects.

Kylan Boswell, Mihailo Petrovic and Wagler give Illinois three talented guards with different skill sets. Boswell continues to improve off the bounce and guards, Petrovic elite ball screen player and Wagler can play on and off the ball. That trio plus Andrej Stojakovic on the…

— Kevin Sweeney (@CBB_Central) October 14, 2025

Why the hype?

So why is Keaton Wagler, a slender combo guard out of Kansas, getting so much hype? Simple. His game immediately translates to all levels of basketball. He has an effortless shooting stroke, impeccable feel, and can play on and off the ball. He has the ability to catch-and-shoot but also make plays off the bounce. Any player who has that skillset will immediately contribute to any college basketball team. Keaton Wagler also has the length at 6 feet 6 to guard both point guards and shooting guards.

At Illinois basketball media day, Brad Underwood compared Wagler’s talents to two one-and-done prospects in Kasparas Jakucionis and Will Riley. Though he may not have as many opportunities to lead the offense that Jakucionis and Riley had, Wagler is going to be a spark-plug off the bench for the Illini. If he continues his trajectory and stays with Illinois for multiple years, watch out.

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