Illinois returns a large portion of its pitching staff from 2017.

83% of last year's wins and 76% of innings return to the Illini.

Leading that group is sophomore Ty Weber (2-7, 5.51 ERA), who started the last six Friday nights in 2017.

Fellow sophomore Cyrillo Watson is also back after making 10 starts in 2017.

The staff should be bolstered with the addition of transfer Sean Leland, who was a Freshman All-American at Louisville in 2015.

Another transfer, Andy Fisher, gives the Illini a left-handed option and added depth.

The bullpen is likely to be anchored by junior Joey Gerber, who is projected to be a top-10 round pick by D1Baseball.com.

Junior Quinten Sefcik (3-3, 4.53), sophomore Ryan Schmitt (5-2, 5.87), sophomore Zack Jones (0-3, 7.85) and junior Zak Devermann (1-11, 4.82) could see increased innings from 2017.

Look for much improvement from the Illini on the mound in 2018.