Caleb Williams is no mystery at #1. What the Bears will do at #9 is a real mystery. The mock drafts are all over the place though Rome Odunze appears to be the choice of most. But I’ve seen almost every possible name mentioned- Alt, Murphy, Turner, Verse, Latu, Bowers, etc.

Brad Biggs is always a good read on the Bears and he breaks the pick down into wants versus needs and comes up with Odunze. Which to me is more of a want. Another analysis I read talks about Waldron using 12 and 13 personal and comes up with Bowers as the pick. I tend to like this idea but it seems like a want more than a need.

If it gets to needs though the Bears still clearly need a defensive end. I read another analysis that talked about Poles/Eberflus wanting an end that can set the edge like Sweat does. This led to the Bears drafting Verse after trading down. Theres the very real possibility that the Bears will have the opportunity to take the highest rated defensive player in the draft, Turner. And he’s at a position of need so that’s appealing too.

Pole’s has talked recently about how hard it will be to make the Bear’s roster now after the last two drafts and all the free agent signings. That suggests that he won’t be trading down as much as he has in the past. More about adding an impact player to an already solid roster. They’ll be some possible churn ahead of the Bear’s pick which will add lots of options to which way they go. Why Pole’s and company have been running simulations so they’re prepared for any last minute changes.

Really hard to predict this one but I’m going Dallas Turner to fill a hole

2026 kid from Keokuk, Iowa. 6-foot-10 PF who played for Midpro Elite

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PONTE BUGGIANESE, Italy – After arriving in Italy on Saturday, Illinois took the court on Sunday for its opening game of its summer 2024 foreign trip. The Orange and Blue held off Spain & Italy Select in a 67-65 victory from a neutral-site gym in Ponte Buggianese, Italy - about an hour bus ride from the team's hotel in Florence.

Four Illini scored in double figures, led by senior Adalia McKenzie's 11 points. Genesis Bryant, Berry Wallace, and Kendall Bostic each added 10 points for the Illini. Bostic turned in a double-double, adding 15 rebounds including five offensive boards. McKenzie and fellow senior Brynn Shoup-Hill each added seven rebounds while Shoup-Hill tallied nine points. Makira Cook registered nine points and a team-high four assists.

Illinois will experiment with numerous lineups and rotations throughout the trip and share playing time. The Illini had 10 players log double-digit minutes against the Select team, with no player exceeding 25. Illinois went with a familiar starting lineup with Bostic, Bryant, Cook, McKenzie, and Shoup-Hill taking the court first while 11 players saw action.

The Illini owned a 10-point lead after the opening quarter with a 24-14 advantage. At the half, the lead shrunk to single digits at eight points (34-26) after Cori Allen hit a two-point buzzer beater to give the Orange and Blue the final score of the half.

Illinois outscored the opponent 16-15 and grabbed 14 rebounds in the third frame to own a 50-41 lead entering the final 10 minutes. Shots finally started falling for Spain & Italy Select in the fourth quarter but the Illini made shots when it counted and came away with the 67-65 victory.

Prior to the game, Illinois walked through Florence and participated in a pizza-making class. The Illini will stay Sunday and Monday nights in Florence, with a bike tour, cooking class, and team dinner still on the docket, before taking the train to Naples on Tuesday. Illinois' next game is Friday night vs. Amilla Peristeriou.

Maybe too early to start the season but who do we think could be draft picks for us in 2025?

JC Davis
Zy Crisler
Terrance Brooks
Seth Coleman
Zhakari Franklin

My sleeper pick…Matthew Bailey.

Illinois held its fourth practice of training camp on Thursday from 6 pm to approximately 8:30. Notes from the practice are below:

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I just talked to him and will post a story later.

Great visit. Illinois has a chance to close on this kid. He says he will take a couple more visits, but hasn't locked them in yet.

A big factor is if he can find a program that will take him this year (2024). He graduated already. I think Illinois would take him. They have an open ride.

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Sutter is trimming his list to 10 today, and Illinois will make the cut. I'll have story up later after he announces it.

Sutter was at Illinois on Wednesday and will be back for the Kansas game.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois outside hitter Raina Terry received Big Ten Preseason Honors, the league announced on Thursday. Terry is one of 18 student-athletes from the conference to earn the accolade.

Terry closed out her senior campaign leading the Big Ten with 618 total points and finishing third with 539 total kills. At the end of the regular season, the outside hitter's 4.69 kills per set ranked sixth nationally and second in the conference, while her 5.37 points per set were seventh in the country and second in the league. At the end of 2023, the marks ranked eighth and ninth in the country, respectively.

In conference play alone, the senior placed second with 5.41 points per set and third with 4.72 kills per set. Terry also added 0.37 aces per set to rank 10th in the league. The 28 strikes from the service line were fifth best in the league.

During her reign of terror last season, Terry logged 10 matches with 20 or more kills, including seven against league opponents. The six-rotation outside hitter also registered three double-doubles last year. Terry paced the squad in kills during 28 of 30 matches in 2023.

The Marengo, Ohio, native was the first player in the Big Ten to reach 500 kills last year, eclipsing the mark on her Senior Night in the Illini's match against Michigan (Nov. 18). In the Orange and Blue's contest at Ohio State, Terry posted a career-best 28 kills in just four sets against the Buckeyes.

After four years with the Illini, Terry sits 10th all-time with 1,634 career kills. She currently sits between AVCA All-America honorable mention Megan Cooney and 2020 Olympic gold medalist Michelle Bartsch-Hackley. Terry is also fourth all-time with 164 career aces.

The Orange and Blue begin the season on Aug. 30 with a match against Cincinnati.

2024 BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON ALL-CONFERENCE TEAM

Raina Terry, Gr., OH, Illinois

Camryn Haworth, Sr., S, Indiana

Melani Shaffmaster, RS-Sr., S, Minnesota

MERRITT BEASON, Sr., OPP, Nebraska

Taylor Landfair, Sr., OH, Nebraska

Harper Murray, So., OH, Nebraska

Bergen Reilly, So., S, Nebraska

LEXI RODRIGUEZ, Sr., L, Nebraska

Emily Londot, Fifth-Year, OH/OPP, Ohio State

Mimi Colyer, Jr., OH, Oregon

JESS MRUZIK, Gr., OH, Penn State

Chloe Chicoine, So., OH, Purdue

Eva Hudson, Jr., OH, Purdue

Anna Dodson, Gr., MB, UCLA

Mia Tuaniga, Sr., S, USC

Carter Booth, Jr., MB, Wisconsin

Sarah Franklin, Sr., OH, Wisconsin

Anna Smrek, Sr., MB/OPP, Wisconsin

Unanimous selection listed in ALL CAPS

2024 BIG TEN VOLLEYBALL PRESEASON POLL

1. Nebraska
2. Wisconsin
3. Penn State
4. Purdue
5. Minnesota
6. Oregon
7. USC
8. UCLA
9. Ohio State
10. Indiana
11. Illinois
12. Michigan State
13. Washington
14. Maryland
15. Michigan
16. Northwestern
17. Rutgers
18. Iowa

Illinois is getting a solid group of visitors on campus for the night practices this week.

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2025 forward Spencer Ahrens will be in for an official visit on Thursday. Illinois just offered him a few days ago.


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ROSEMONT, Ill. – The Big Ten Conference announced Wednesday that Gainbridge Fieldhouse in Indianapolis will host the 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournaments, with future events headed to United Center in Chicago, T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas and Little Caesars Arena in Detroit. The lineup will bring the conference's premier basketball events to fans in all three time zones across the new Big Ten landscape over the next four seasons.

“We look forward to partnering with the cities of Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, and Las Vegas as they host the Big Ten Basketball Tournaments from 2025-28,” said Big Ten Commissioner, Tony Petitti. “Each city will be an exciting postseason opportunity for our student-athletes, coaches, and fans, both locally and from across the country.”

The 2025 TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament will take place March 5-9, followed by the 2025 TIAA Men’s Basketball Tournament from March 12-16. The events will be the first to feature a 15-team field following the additions of Oregon, UCLA, USC and Washington this summer.

The Big Ten also announced basketball tournament locations for 2026-28. The women’s tournament will remain in Indianapolis in 2026 before moving to Las Vegas in 2027 and Detroit in 2028. The Big Ten will host the men’s tournament in Chicago for the 12th time in 2026, return to Indianapolis in 2027, and head to Las Vegas in 2028. This will mark the first time Big Ten Tournaments will be held in Las Vegas or Detroit.

The TIAA Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament returns to Indianapolis next season, where it has been held 27 times since the tournament began in 1982. Eight different programs have claimed a tournament title, with Iowa winning the last three tournament championships.

The TIAA Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament is back in Indianapolis for the 14th time. Seven different teams have claimed the Big Ten Tournament title since the inaugural event in 1998, including Illinois winning its fourth tournament championship in 2024.

An overview of future Big Ten Women’s and Men’s Basketball Tournament sites can be found below.


Big Ten Women’s Basketball Tournament Future Sites:

• March 5-9, 2025 – Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
• March 4-8, 2026 – Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
• March 3-7, 2027 – T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)
• March 1-5, 2028 – Little Caesars Arena (Detroit)

Big Ten Men’s Basketball Tournament Future Sites:

• March 12-16, 2025 – Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
• March 11-15, 2026 – United Center (Chicago)
• March 10-14, 2027 – Gainbridge Fieldhouse (Indianapolis)
• March 8-12, 2028 – T-Mobile Arena (Las Vegas)

PONTE VEDRA BEACH, Fla. – Fighting Illini men's golf rising senior Jackson Buchanan, the reigning Big Ten Golfer of the Year, is ranked sixth in the preseason PGA TOUR University Class of 2025, released Wednesday (July 31).

Buchanan is set to return to Illinois for his final season in 2024-25, having built on his breakout sophomore campaign with a highly successful junior season last year culminating in the Illini's run to match play at the 2024 NCAA Championship.

In addition to earning 2024 B1G Golfer of the Year, Buchanan was tabbed as a third team GCAA All-American, an honorable mention All-American by GolfWeek, and was also a unanimous first team All-Big Ten selection, his second straight first-team all-conference nod.

During the 2023-24 season, Buchanan competed in all 13 of the team's stroke play events, in addition to match play at the Cypress Point Classic, and closed the year with a stroke average of 70.92. He finished as runner-up at the Big Ten Championship after claiming medalist honors at a team-leading two events – the Purdue Fall Invitational and the Duck Invitational – during the regular season. Overall, Buchanan posted a team-most eight top-10 finishes. He tied for the team lead with 12 sub-70 rounds on the year and ranked second on the squad with 20 rounds of par or better. Buchanan closed as the Illini's top finisher in four events in 2023-24, tied for the most on the team.

Buchanan, who is pursuing his bachelor's degree in operations management from the Gies College of Business at Illinois, was selected to the CSC Academic All-America third team, earned Cobalt Golf All-America Scholar honors from the GCAA, was recognized as an Academic All-Big Ten selection, and was tabbed as a Big Ten Distinguished Scholar.

This summer, the Dacula, Georgia, native made his major debut at the U.S. Open at Pinehurst, played in the PGA Tour's John Deere Classic at TPC Deere Run in Silvis, Illinois, and competed in the Korn Ferry Tour's Memorial Health Championship in Springfield, Illinois.

Buchanan is the latest Fighting Illini to appear in the top 25 of the PGA TOUR University rankings. Michael Feagles finished seventh in the inaugural PGA Tour U Class of 2021, while Adrien Dumont de Chassart and Tommy Kuhl finished No. 3 and No. 15, respectively in the final 2023 ranking.

ABOUT PGA TOUR U
In partnership with the World Amateur Golf Ranking (WAGR), PGA TOUR University ranks players based on the last two years of their collegiate careers. Eligible tournaments include NCAA Division I men's team competitions, official PGA TOUR tournaments and select DP World Tour events. The ranking period for the Class of 2025 began Week 23 of 2023 and concludes May 26, 2025, following the final round of stroke play at the NCAA Championship.

The No. 1 player in the final PGA TOUR University Ranking next May will earn PGA TOUR membership, while players Nos. 2-5 (fully exempt) and Nos. 6-10 (conditional) will earn Korn Ferry Tour membership for 2025. Additionally, players Nos. 6-25 will earn fully exempt membership for the North America Swing of PGA TOUR Americas in 2025.

Eligible players in the Class of 2025 must register to be included in the PGA TOUR University Ranking. Player registration is open, and the complete Class of 2025 Ranking will be released in September, prior to the start of the fall college golf season.

Hated to hear this today, his sister posted online about his passing. No cause was mentioned but prayers go up to the family, he was a wonderul guy and loved his Illini.