Big Ten Release | AP Story
CHAMPAIGN, Ill.– The All-Big Ten teams and individual award winners were announced on Tuesday by the conference office, as well as Big Ten accolades from the Associated Press, with three Fighting Illini recognized.
All-America candidate Keaton Wagler (Shawnee, Kan.) earned several awards today. He is First-Team All-Big Ten and Big Ten Freshman of the Year from three votes: the conference coaches, media covering the league, and the AP, with the latter coming via unanimous selection. In addition, he was a unanimous pick by the coaches to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.
Wagler is having a historic freshman season with the Illini. He shattered the school's freshman scoring record – currently with 554 points – and at 17.9 ppg, he is on pace to set the program's rookie scoring average record as well. He has scored in double figures in each of the last 23 games, and 28 times on the season, with a total of nine 20-point games. Wagler was a six-time Big Ten Freshman of the Week and earned National Player of the Week accolades after his 46-point performance in the win at No. 4 Purdue on Jan. 24 that marked the most points by any player in a top-10 road win and the most ever by a Big Ten freshman.
Wagler becomes the eighth first-team All-Big Ten honoree of head coach Brad Underwood's tenure. The Illini have now had at least one first-team pick in six of the last seasons, while Illinois' total of eight first-team selections over the last seven years is most in the Big Ten, tied with Purdue.
Wagler is the fifth Big Ten Freshman of the Year in school history and first since Kofi Cockburn in 2020.
Forward David Mirkovic (Niksic, Montenegro) joins Wagler on the coaches' Big Ten All-Freshman Team, and he is an All-Big Ten honorable mention selection by both the coaches and media. Mirkovic averages 13.2 points per game and is the Illini's leading rebounder at 7.8 rpg. He has recorded seven double-doubles on the season, highlighted by his 27-point, 21-rebound effort vs. Colgate on Nov. 14 that set the UI freshman single-game rebounds record and marked the first 20-20 game by an Illini in 53 years.
Illinois now has a total of seven players voted to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team in the Underwood era. This is just the second time, meanwhile, that the Illini have two Big Ten All-Freshman Team picks in the same season, joining Dee Brown and James Augustine in 2003.
Senior Kylan Boswell (Champaign, Ill.) received All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition by the media, and he earned one of five spots on the coaches' Big Ten All-Defensive Team. He is the Illini's second-leading scorer at 13.3 ppg while also averaging 4.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists. Boswell has scored in double figures 16 times, with five 20-point games, and he has earned a reputation as one of the most versatile defenders in the country, guarding every opposing position on the court. He is the first Illini on the B1G All-Defensive Team since Trent Frazier was a two-time choice in 2021 and 2022.
Junior Jake Davis (McCordsville, Ind.) has also been highlighted as Illinois' Big Ten Sportsmanship Award honoree.
These players have helped lead Illinois to its current No. 9 ranking, 24-7 overall record, seventh straight 20-win season and most regular-season wins since 2005-06, and 15-5 Big Ten runner-up finish, tying the second-most league wins in school history.
No. 4 seed Illinois opens Big Ten Tournament play in the quarterfinal round on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT on BTN.
