Starting a new thread as kids start announcing for the Portal

I’ll put all posts about the portal here over the next few days.

Players have until Tuesday to submit their paperwork to transfer.

Schools have 48 hours to process it so the portal will continue to populate through Thursday.

Humrichous decision should be today or tomorrow.

A big wing is the top priority in terms of NIL $. That picture should become clearer very soon.

Multiple options for a big including overseas, portal, etc.

Illinois could still lose one more player to the portal.

I don’t see them spending much on a replacement. Maybe take a flyer on a kid to be 12/13th man.

Questions?

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RIVALS RANKINGS WEEK

Tuesday: Five-Star Countdown

Wednesday: New Rivals250 unveiled | Gorney goes position-by-position | Biggest risers

Thursday: New offensive position rankings released | QB rankings breakdown | RB rankings breakdown | WR/TE rankings breakdown | OL rankings breakdown

Friday: New defensive position rankings released | DL rankings breakdown | LB rankings breakdown | DB rankings breakdown | ATH rankings breakdown

Saturday: New state rankings released | Who is No. 1 in each state?

New Rivals250: https://n.rivals.com/prospect_rankings/rivals250/2025
Biggest movers: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-ten-biggest-risers-in-the-rivals250-24
Adam Gorney's position-by-position thoughts: https://n.rivals.com/news/rivals-rankings-week-breaking-down-the-new-rivals250-for-2025

UTSA WR Franklin is said to be setting up a visit to Illinois. That would be a huge get!

Kasparas Jakucionis coming

Thanks.

Losing Dennis yet bringing in some intriguing talent. I think we did well.

1. Playing two PGs together
2. Two-year plan to get to the Final Four
3. Lots of change in the offseason with time needed to gel

That team had a brutal preseason but took off like a rocket down the stretch. Lost to the #1 KenPom team in the Sweet 16 as a 5-seed.

I think to some degree that roster construction was a happy accident that paid off big time. The other comp in terms of roster construction is the 2000-2001 team that actually made sense with players at the right position and talent at all positions 1-5.

There are a million question marks but the upside potential is tremendous. I thought Brad Underwood was happy in his first preseason press conference last year but this year he may be positively giddy.

The next evolution of NIL collectives and the battles that await: 'This is a big inflection point'

https://sports.yahoo.com/the-next-e...this-is-a-big-inflection-point-120051261.html

CARLSBAD, Calif. – The No. 11-seeded Fighting Illini men's golf team is moving on to Round 4 of the NCAA Men's Golf Championship at the top of the team leaderboard. The Orange and Blue closed out Round 3 with the lowest team round of the weekend – a 6-under 282 – overtaking Virginia as the field was pared down to the top 15 teams, and nine individuals, for Monday's stroke play finale on the North Course at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa.

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CARLSBAD, Calif. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team advanced to match play at the 2024 NCAA Golf Championship led by individual runner-up performances from Tyler Goecke and Max Herendeen. The Illini posted a team score of 1146 (-6), running away with first place by a 16-stroke margin after four rounds of stroke play,

Illinois secured the No. 1 seed in the eight-team bracket that will determine the team title. The Orange and Blue will match up Tuesday in the quarterfinals against No. 8-seeded Georgia Tech, whose Hiroshi Tai edged out Goecke, Herendeen, and four other competitors by just one stroke to claim the individual championship.

Illinois' match play berth marks the program's ninth in the last 15 NCAA Championships since the current format was adopted in 2009, moving the Fighting Illini into a tie with Oklahoma State for the most by a single program. It is the second time the Illini have been the No. 1 seed (2015).

"We just continued our solid play all week," head coach Mike Small said of his team's impressive stroke play performance. "We hit a little lull in the morning due to some frustrations and agitations from a couple things. We settled back down, [the team] did a good job of that, and then they played solid through the back nine again."

Goecke posted a 1-under 71 to climb five spots into a tie for second place with a 72-hole total of 286 (-2). Herendeen matched Goecke for the week, posting a closing round of even-par 72. Each finished the back nine 1-under including birdies on 18. Goecke also birdied 11 to offset a bogey two holes later, on No. 13. Herendeen was bogey-free over his last 11 holes and, playing in the last threesome on the course, came up just short on a chip-in attempt for eagle on 18 that would have forced a playoff with GT's Tai.

Sophomore Ryan Voois posted the team's lowest score in Round 4, a 3-under 69, to finish his week at even-par 288 in a tie for 11th. Voois' performance, and top-15 finish along with Herendeen and Goecke, gave the Illini three golfers on the All-Championship Team for the second consecutive season.

Junior Jackson Buchanan posted the Illini's fourth score of the day with an even-par 72 for the third consecutive round. He closed stroke play in a tie for 31st at 294 (+6). Senior Piercen Hunt finished tied for 53rd with a four-round total of 299 (+11).

The Illini's quarterfinal match vs. the Yellow Jackets will tee off beginning at 8:20 a.m. CT/6:20 a.m. PT off No. 1, with the winner advancing to a semifinal contest against either No. 4 North Carolina or No. 5 Florida State. Other quarterfinal matchups include: No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. No. 7 Ohio State, and No. 3 Virginia vs. No. 6 Auburn. Semifinals are schedule for Tuesday afternoon with tee times beginning at 2:45 p.m. CT/12:45 p.m. PT.

Live scoring is available throughout the day via Golfstat.com, and GOLF Channel coverage is scheduled to begin at 12 p.m. CT/10 a.m. PT for the quarterfinals and 5 p.m. CT/3 p.m. PT for the semifinals.

CARLSBAD, Calif – The No. 11-seeded Fighting Illini men's golf team is tied for fifth in the 30-team field after opening the NCAA Championship on Friday afternoon with a 5-over 293 at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa's North Course.

With birdies at a premium on the newly renovated course, the Illini came out strong and were steady through the middle of the round before a tough stretch on the back nine. But a a combined 2-under finish on No. 18 – with birdies from senior Piercen Hunt and freshman Max Herendeen – helped the Orange and Blue remain in the hunt, just three shots behind co-leaders Virginia and Arizona.

"It's our first time playing this golf course," head coach Mike Small said. "The conditions got a little tough there at the end - the wind picked up, and it got colder. The hardest holes on this golf course are that back nine, so everything was stacked up against us as we tried to finish, and I think maybe a little fatigue set in. But we had a couple birdies on that last hole, which was huge."

"There are a lot of positive to take away, but we also got loose in some areas, so we have to talk about those and put those behind us. We've got to be ready to go tomorrow morning because we're going to see the back nine first, again tomorrow when it's chilly. We can't come out flat."

Three Illini – Hunt, Herendeen and fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke – each carded rounds of 73 (+1) to sit inside the top 25, while sophomore Ryan Voois rounded out the scoring with a 74 (+2) to grab a tie for 41st.

Hunt carded par on 15 holes, including 12 straight to open his round. Bogeys on 13 and 17 moved him to 2-over before dropping his birdie putt on 18. Herendeen's birdie on 18 was part of a 1-under finish after the turn for the freshman. He started 2-over on the front nine before tallying his first birdie of the day on No. 11. Despite the tough conditions late in the round, his bogey on 17 was his only blip after making the turn.

Goecke and Voois tied for the team-lead with three birdies on the day. Goeke's all came on the front nine. He opened with red numbers on Holes 1 and 3 to offset bogeys on 2 and 5. His final birdie of the day on No. 8 moved him to 1-under at the turn, before he closed with seven pars surrounding a pair of bogeys on Nos. 15 and 16. Voois was 1-over at the turn with birdies on Holes 3 and 6. His third birdie of the day came on No. 10 to move him to even par before bogeys on 11 and 14. The sophomore steadies himself, however, finishing his round with four straight pars to give the Illini a solid fourth score.

Junior Jackson Buchanan, who finished as the individual runner-up at last year's NCAA Championship, is tied for 112th in the 156-player field. He was even through 13 holes, with a birdie on 11 matching an early birdie on No, 5. But the reigning Big Ten Golfer of the Year had a tough finish to the round with a string of double-bogey on three of his final five holes to slip down the leaderboard.

"The afternoon waves are always the hardest," Small added. "It's a long day teeing off as late as we did. Couple that with our best player having tough day, and you still finish the round in fifth place, in the afternoon, in tough conditions. I think that's a lot of positives."

Round 2 is slated for Saturday morning. The Illini tee off – again paired with Florida and Arizona – on No. 10 beginning at 9:57 a.m. CT/7:57 a.m. PT. Live scoring is available at Golfstat.com.