THE ROAD TO NATIONALS

CARLSBAD, Calif. – The Fighting Illini men's golf team - ranked No. 12 in the latest NCAA Division I team rankings - continues its postseason run, May 23-28, at the 2025 NCAA Championship at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif.

Illinois, the overall No. 11 seed in the 30-team NCAA Championship field, claimed a share of the team title as host of the NCAA Urbana Regional at Atkins Golf Club, May 12-14, led by a runner-up finish from junior Ryan Voois. The win, Illinois seventh regional title under head coach Mike Small, secured the 31st National Championship appearance in program history. Under Small, the Illini have now earned 18 NCAA Championship bids, including berths in 16 of the last 17 tournaments dating back to 2008.

THE SETTING
The 2025 NCAA Championship is hosted by the Texas Longhorns at Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, Calif. The 2025 tournament marks the second consecutive national championships to be contested on the North Course, formerly known as the Champions Course, which is nestled among 400 lush garden acres near pristine beaches and is recognized as one of the world's top golf destinations. The course was newly renovated prior to the 2024 NCAA Championship, which served as its unveiling. The re-design was led by acclaimed architect Gil Hanse with the NCAA Championship and the match play format in mind.

TOURNAMENT FORMAT
The 2025 NCAA Championship will be played over six days from Friday, May 23 through Wednesday, May 28.

Friday through Monday will feature four rounds (72 holes) of stroke play to determine the individual national champion. A cut to 15 teams and the top nine individuals not on an advancing team will take place following Sunday's third round (54 holes).

The top eight teams from stroke play will advance to Tuesday morning's match play quarterfinals. Semifinals matches are scheduled for Tuesday afternoon, when the final four teams will compete for a place in the match play championship set for Wednesday afternoon.

THE FIELD
The 30-team field for the 2025 NCAA Championship includes the top-five finishers from each of six regional sites contested May 12-14. The table at right shows the complete list of the 2025 NCAA Championship seeds.

The Fighting Illini enter play at the championship round ranked as the No. 11 overall seed after beginning their postseason run as the No. 3 seed in the Urbana Regional where they shared the title with No. 2-seeded Oklahoma State, and finished ahead of No. 19 Texas Tech, No. 23 UNLV, and No. 28 Troy. Other regional winners include No. 1 seed Auburn (Auburn Regional), No. 6 Oklahoma (Amherst Regional), No. 7 Florida (Bremerton Regional), No. 8 Florida State (Tallahassee), and No. 14 BYU (Reno Regional). The Fighting Illini are also joined in the field by a pair of Big Ten foes in 12th-seeded UCLA and 24th-seeded Purdue, which finished third and fourth, respectively, at the Auburn Regional.

FIGHTING ILLINI LINEUP
No. 1: Ryan Voois
No. 2: Jackson Buchanan
No. 3: Max Herendeen
No. 4: Jake Birdwell
No. 5: Trey Marrion
Alt: Ethan Wilson

ILLINI HISTORY AT THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP
The Fighting Illini have competed for the national title 31 times - 30 since the NCAA era began in 1939 - and have established the program as one of the top postseason performers in collegiate golf over the last 25 years under the guidance of head coach Mike Small.

Since Small took the reins of his alma mater prior to the 2000-01 season, the Orange and Blue have competed in 20 of 24 NCAA Regionals, and have advanced to the NCAA Championship round on 18 occasions. Put another way, 90 percent of the Illini's postseason runs under Small have resulted in the team advancing to the NCAA Championship. Even more impressive, since 2008 the Illini have secured 16 out of 17 NCAA Championship berths.

Entering the 2025 NCAA Championship, and since the current Stroke Play/Match Play format was adopted in 2009, the Fighting Illini boast nine seasons - 2011, 2013, 2014, 2105, 2016, 2017, 2021, 2023 and 2024 - in which the team progressed to match play. Those nine match play appearances rank tied for first nationally, with Oklahoma State. In those nine match play appearances, the program has amassed 14 total matches (third nationally) and five victories (tied for sixth nationally).

In 2024, the first year at La Costa, the Fighting Illini ran away with first place in stroke play with a 72-hole total of 6-under 1146, earning the top seed in match play by a margin of 16 strokes over No. 2-seeded Vanderbilt.

Illinois' best team postseason finish came under Small in 2013 when the Illini finished as the national runner-up at the Capital City Club in Atlanta, Ga. In addition to that championship match appearance against Alabama, the Illini played in the quarterfinals in 2011, 2014, 2021, 2023, and 2024, and made three-consecutive semifinal appearances in 2015, 2016 and 2017.

Under Small's guidance, the Fighting Illini have also produced a pair of individual NCAA champions. Scott Langley claimed the first national title for the Illini in 2010 at the Honors Course in Ooltewah, Tenn. Two years later, Thomas Pieters captured medalist honors at the 2012 NCAA Championship at Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades, Calif. Illinois, Florida, Georgia Tech, and Oklahoma State, are the only programs to produce two individual national champions since 2000-01 (Mike Small era).

In 2023 at Grayhawk, Jackson Buchanan posted the third-best individual NCAA Championship finish in program history with his runner-up performance, matched last year by then-freshman Max Herendeen and fifth-year senior Tyler Goecke in Year 1 at La Costa.

Since 2010 when Langley won Illinois' first individual national championship, the Orange and Blue lead the nation in individual champions (2), runner-up finishes (3), top-three finishers (6), and top-5 finishers (8) in stroke play at the NCAA Championship.

LIVE SCORING
Live scoring for the NCAA Championship will be available on Clippd Scoreboard for both the stroke play and match play. A recap and results will be posted on FightingIllini.com following each day of competition.

GOLF CHANNEL LIVE COVERAGE
The GOLF Channel will provide pre-tournament, live and post-round coverage of the NCAA Men's Golf Championship. Live coverage begins on May 26 (5-9 p.m. CT) when the individual national champion is crowned. Golf Channel's live coverage will also include all three rounds of the team match-play tournament on Tuesday, May 27 (12-2:30 p.m. CT and 5-9 p.m. CT) and Wednesday, May 28 (5-9 p.m. CT).

A 9 point run in the first half in the Minnesota
game vs OKC. A big shout out to him and Illinois by the announcers.

15 points in 10 minutes as of 7 minutes to go in the 4th.

This is going to be awesome for you guys as subscribers.

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Duke.

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I will have more on Turner when I get back from Chicago.

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CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The Illinois football program has sold out of public season tickets for the first time in at least 20 years.

Illinois has sold over 34,000 public season tickets, which excludes students and premium seating numbers. The Fighting Illini's final season ticket total for kickoff against Western Illinois on Friday, Aug. 29 is expected to exceed 43,000.

Illinois' four-game mini plan will go on sale Thursday at 9 a.m. CT, including matchups at Memorial Stadium against Western Illinois, Ohio State, Rutgers, and Northwestern. The mini plan is priced at $175 for the four games.

Illinois, which will host seven games at Memorial Stadium, returns 18 starters from last year's Citrus Bowl team that finished #16 in the final AP Top 25.

OMAHA, Neb. -- Illinois baseball (30-22) opened the 2025 Big Ten Baseball Tournament with a dramatic 6-5 win, in extra innings, over [7] Michigan (33-22) today at Charles Schwab Field.

For the second-straight game, Jacob Schroeder (1-for-5) hit a go-ahead home run in extra innings, this time proving to be the game winner. Drake Westcott (3-for-5) also slugged a solo shot and Kyle Schupmann (1-for-5) drove in two runs on an RBI-single.

Tyler Schmitt turned in a stellar start, working 7.0 innings and allowing two runs on six hits to go along with a season-high nine strikeouts. Zach Bates picked up the win in relief, turning in 1.2 scoreless frames, whiffing one batter.

HOW IT HAPPENED

The Illini jumped out to a 3-0 to start the game, with Vytas Valincius opening the scoring on a bases-loaded walk and Schupmann following with a two-run single.

Schmitt began his day with a 1-2-3 first and then worked out of a two-on, one-out, jam in the second. The junior worked another clean inning in the third before the Wolverines pushed a run across in the fourth to make it 3-1.

Michigan put some pressure on Schmitt in the fifth when the first two batters of the inning reached safely but the Madison, Wis., native was able to retire the next three hitters to put another zero on the board.

The Wolverines cut the lead to one in the sixth, with Schmitt striking out the side in the inning, but the Orange and Blue restored their two-run advantage in the seventh when Jack Zebig singled home Cameron Chee-Aloy with two outs to make it 4-2.

Schmitt capped his Big Ten Tournament debut with two more punchouts in the seventh to bring his total to nine, surpassing his previous season-high mark of six.

Westcott led off the eighth with a solo blast to center, the 42nd of his Illini career, to make it 5-2, but two homers from Michigan in the bottom of the inning would tie the game at 5-5.

Illinois went down quietly in the top of the ninth and the Wolverines carried that momentum to the plate, loading the bases with just one out. Bates was able to induce a 4-2-3 double play and send the ballgame to extras.

Schroeder started bonus baseball with a big fly to left center to put the Illini back in front 6-5. Bates came back out for the 10th and retired the Wolverines in order to give Illinois the win.



UP NEXT

The Fighting Illini will be back in action tomorrow, taking on [2] UCLA. The victor of that contest will win Pool B and advance to the single-elimination semifinal round. First pitch from Charles Schwab Field is set for 10 a.m. CT.

GAME NOTES
» Drake Westcott went 3-for-5 with a run, double, home run and an RBI.
» First game with at least three hits since April 22 at Indiana State.
» Now has 42 home runs in his Illinois career...second-most all-time in program history.
» Third game this season with multiple extra-base hits.
» Jacob Schroeder went 1-for-5 with a run, home run and an RBI.
» Has homered in three-straight games, a career-long streak.
» Has four total home runs during that span.
» Now has 39 home runs in his Illinois career, tied for fourth-most all-time in program history.
» Has seven RBI in his last three games...had just seven RBI in previous 19 games.
» Nick Groves went 2-for-5 with a run, double and a walk.
» Has four two-hit games in his last six.
» Tyler Schmitt took no-decision in his stellar Big Ten Tournament debut.
» 7.0 IP, 6 H, 2 R/ER, 1 BB, 9 SO
» Second-straight quality start and fifth overall in his debut campaign at Illinois.
» Worked at least seven innings for the second-straight start and for the fourth time this season.
» First start this season working on short rest (4 days).
» Racked up a season-high nine strikeouts...previous high was six.
» Most strikeouts by an Illinois pitcher at the Big Ten Tournament since Andy Fisher also had nine on May 24, 2018.
» Issued just one walk, matching his fewest in a start this season (April 25 vs. Purdue)
» Has allowed 4 ER in last 14.0 IP (2.57 ERA) and has recorded 14 strikeouts in those outings.
» Zach Bates improved to 2-2 on the season.
» 1.2 IP, 0 H, 0 R/ER, 1 BB, 1 SO
» Did not allow either of his two inherited runners to score in the ninth.
» The Fighting Illini won their opening game at the Big Ten Tournament for the first time since 2018.
» Illinois also snapped a five-game losing skid to Michigan at the Big Ten Tournament.
» First win over the Wolverines at the conference tournament since May 23, 2013.
» Head coach Dan Hartleb now has 597 career wins at the helm of Illinois baseball.
» Illinois pitchers limited Michigan to just 1-for-10 (.100) with runners in scoring position.
» Illinois pitchers faced 43 Michigan hitters in the game, allowing eight ground balls and 10 fly balls while striking out 11.
» The Fighting Illini drew eight walks from Michigan pitching.

“The new policy will guarantee the five highest-ranked conference champions a place in the Playoff, but will no longer include a bye for the four highest-ranked champions. The 12-team bracket will now be seeded directly based on the final ranking of the CFP Selection Committee, with the four highest-ranked teams receiving a first-round bye. If one or more of the five highest-ranked conference champions are ranked outside the top 12, that team or teams would move up to the 12th seed, 11th seed, etc., based on the number of conference champions outside the top 12.”

Underway at Atkins. Next three days. After 6-9 holes, Illini at -5 and in the early lead.
Top 5 advance.

4:30 announcement

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Nasir Rankin announcing at 4:30 p.m CT. Illinois, North Carolina, USC, Nebraska, and Duke are the final five.

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DT King Liggins is announcing around 3:30 CT. Illinois or Wisconsin.

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I should have a good idea later today how this is going to go for sure, but Illinois is pretty confident.

Fighting Illini Add Decorated Transfer Huddleston for 2025-26

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois head coach Mike Small announced Monday (May 19) the signing of Dane Huddleston to the Fighting Illini men's golf program. Huddleston will join the Illini in 2025-26 as a junior transfer with two seasons of eligibility remaining after a successful two-year stint to begin his collegiate career at Utah Valley University.

Huddleston joins fall signee Dujuan Snyman as new additions for the Illini next season.

DANE HUDDLESTON | WOODLAND, WASHINGTON | UTAH VALLEY​

HUDDLESTON'S HIGHLIGHTS: Huddleston, the 2025 WAC Golfer of the Year, comes to Illinois on the strength of one of the most successful individual seasons in NCAA history. During his sophomore campaign at UVU in 2024-25, he competed in all 11 regular-season tournaments, winning five individual tournament titles, including the WAC Championship, and finished fifth as an individual competitor at the NCAA Reno Regional – one shot from advancing to the NCAA Championship. Huddleston's five wins made him UVU's all-time leader in career victories and marked the fourth-most in a single season in NCAA Division I history. He became one of just 24 golfers all-time to win five or more events in a single season, trailing only NCAA record holders Jay Don Blake (Utah State, 1980-81), Tiger Woods (Stanford, 1995-96), and Matt Hill (NC State (2008-09), who each posted seasons with eight tournament wins. Through play at the 2025 regionals, Huddleston is No. 52 in the NCAA player rankings. During his freshman campaign in 2023-24, he competed in all 11 tournaments for the Wolverines with a team-leading scoring average of 71.84 and earned First Team All-WAC honors. For his career at Utah Valley, he teed off in 66 rounds over 23 events with a combined scoring average 70.68.

QUOTING HUDDLESTON: "The deciding factor for me to come to Illinois was Coach Small and the rest of the coaching staff, along with practice facilities that I believe are the best in the country!"

SMALL ON HUDDLESTON: "We are extremely excited to welcome Dane to the Illini golf family! Dane has clearly shown that he has the talent and ability to be a big-time collegiate player. He showed this past season that he can consistently win and compete at a high level and that he is very comfortable at the top of the leaderboard. Dane's personality, work ethic, and skill will fit in perfectly here at Illinois, and our entire program is fired up to have him join us next fall."


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ROSEMONT, Ill. – Three members of the Fighting Illini baseball team earned All-Big Ten selections, the conference announced on Tuesday.

Vytas Valincius was named to the Second Team, and Zach Bates and Jacob Schroeder were named to the Third Team. Schroeder was also named to the Big Ten All-Defensive Team.

Payton Hutchings was selected as Illinois' Sportsmanship Award honoree.

ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM

OF - Vytas Valincius

.354/.435/.530, 42 R, 14 2B, 7 HR, 55 RBI, 30 BB, 11 SB

This is the first conference honor of Valincius' career. The Lockport, Ill., native leads the Illini in average, hits (70) and doubles. His .354 average also ranks eighth among Big Ten hitters. Valincius has also stole a career-high 11 bases in 12 attempts, tied for second-most on the team. The senior also leads the team with 21 multi-hit performances, posting 12 two-hit games and eight three-hit games and one four-hit game. He turned in one of the best performances of his Illinois career on April 13 vs. Indiana, going 3-for-5 with three runs scored, three doubles and seven RBI. Valincius posted two nine-game hitting streaks during the regular season, first from February 14 to March 1 and then again from April 1-15. During his April hitting streak, he went 20-for-35 (.571) with 10 runs scored, eight doubles, one home run, 18 RBI and four walks.

ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM

RP - Zach Bates

1-2, 8 S, 2.84 ERA, 25.1 IP, 12 H, 9 R, 8 ER, 15 BB, 32 SO, .140 AVG

This is the first conference honor of Bate's career. The Columbia, Mo., native went 1-2 on the season with a 2.84 ERA (8 ER/25.1 IP), totaling eight saves, which ranked tied for fourth among Big Ten arms. Bates picked up the first win of his Illinois career on March 9 vs. Michigan, tossing 2.0 scoreless frames and picking up three strikeouts. He earned his first save on March 28 at Michigan State, working 2.0 shutout innings. Bates turned in the best outing of his season on April 5 vs. Maryland, spinning 2.1 scoreless innings, retiring all seven batters faced, whiffing a career-high four batters. In an 11-game (15.1 IP) span from March 25 to May 6, Bates allowed just one earned run (0.59 ERA) on seven hits, with just one going for extra bases, striking out 19 batters and holding opponents to a .135 average. He also converted all seven of his save chances during that span.

At-Large - Jacob Schroeder

.271/.390/.566, 24 R, 35 H, 6 2B, 1 3B, 10 HR, 23 RBI, 16 BB, 4 SB

This is the second conference honor of Schroeder's career, as he was also named All-Big Ten First Team in 2024. The Chicago native is one of three Illini batters to reach double-digit homers on the season and has 38 in his Illinois career, which is tied for sixth-most all-time in program history. His current career slugging percentage of .610 would be the eighth-best mark in program history. After driving in six runs during the series at Ohio State from May 15-17, Schroeder eclipsed the 100-RBI mark in his career and currently has 104. He put together his best performance of the season in the series finale in Columbus, going 3-for-5 with two runs scored, two home runs and four RBI. Schroeder put together a career-long 11-game hitting streak from April 5 - May 2, where he went 14-for-37 (.378) with seven runs scored, five doubles, one home run, six RBI and two walks.


ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM


C - Jacob Schroeder

278 C, 237 PO, 36 A, 5 E, 13 CSB, 40 SBA, 8 PB


Schroeder earns the nod at catcher on the Big Ten's first-ever all-defensive team. Schroeder caught 13 baserunners in 53 stolen base attempts, a 24.5 percent success rate, which was tied for most in the conference.


2025 BIG TEN BASEBALL AWARDS


PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Roch Cholowsky, So., SS, UCLA

PITCHER OF THE YEAR
Joseph Dzierwa, Jr., SP, Michigan State

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Roch Cholowsky, So., SS, UCLA

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Jake Hanley, Fr., 1B, Indiana

COACH OF THE YEAR
Mark Wasikowski, Oregon

ALL-BIG TEN FIRST TEAM

SP — Cade Obermueller, Jr., Iowa
SP — Aaron Savary, Jr., Iowa
SP — Joseph Dzierwa, Jr., Michigan State +
SP — Grayson Grinsell, Jr., Oregon
RP — Will Rogers, Sr., Michigan
RP — Seth Mattox, Sr., Oregon
RP — Isaac Yeager, Jr., Washington
C — Alex Calarco, Sr., Maryland
1B — Jacob Walsh, Sr., Oregon
2B — Mitch Voit, Jr., Michigan
SS — Roch Cholowsky, So., UCLA
3B — Ethan Hedges, Jr., USC
OF — Korbyn Dickerson, So., Indiana
OF — Devin Taylor, Jr., Indiana
OF — Mason Neville, Jr., Oregon
UTL — Reese Moore, So., Iowa
At-Large — Ryan Cooney, So., Oregon (2B)
At-Large — Paxton Kling, Jr., Penn State (OF)

+ unanimous selection


ALL-BIG TEN SECOND TEAM

SP — Cole Gilley, Sr., Indiana
SP — Reece Beuter, Sr., Iowa
SP — Michael Barnett, Jr., UCLA
SP — Max Banks, Sr., Washington
RP — Luke Broderick, Jr., Nebraska
RP — Michael Vallone, Gr., Purdue
RP — Brodie Purcell, So., USC
C — Daniel Rogers, Gr., Iowa
C — Weber Neels, Jr., Minnesota
1B — Logan Sutter, Sr., Purdue
1B — Mulivai Levu, So., UCLA
2B — Ryan McKay, So., Michigan State
SS — Chris Hacopian, So., Maryland
3B — Roman Martin, So., UCLA
OF — Vytas Valincius, Sr., Illinois
OF — Trevor Cohen, Rutgers
OF — AJ Salgado, Sr., UCLA
UTL — Jack Porter, So., Penn State
At-Large — Jake Hanley, Fr., Indiana (1B)
At-Large — Benny Casillas, Gr., Michigan (SS)


ALL-BIG TEN THIRD TEAM

SP — Kyle McCoy, So., Maryland
SP — Jason Reitz, Jr., Oregon
SP — Caden Aoki, Sr., USC
RP — Zach Bates, So., Illinois
2B — Abbrie Covarrubias, So., USC
SS — Maddox Molony, So., Oregon
3B — Owen McElfatrick, Jr., Northwestern
OF — Ben Wilmes, Sr., Iowa
OF — Anson Aroz, Jr., Oregon
OF — AJ Guerrero, Sr., Washington
UTL — Dominic Hellman, Jr., Oregon
At-Large — Jacob Schroeder, Gr., Illinois (C)
(no C, 1B because of second team ties)


ALL-DEFENSIVE TEAM

P — Caden Aoki, Sr., USC
C — Jacob Schroeder, Gr., Illinois
1B — Mulivai Levu, So., UCLA
2B — Mitch Voit, Jr., Michigan
SS — Roch Cholowsky, So., UCLA
3B — Ethan Hedges, Jr., USC
OF — Korbyn Dickerson, So., Indiana
OF — Paxton Kling, Jr., Penn State
OF — Malakhi Knight, Sr., Washington


ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

Jake Hanley, Fr., 1B, Indiana
Cooper Malamazian, Fr., SS, Indiana
Will Moore, Fr., 3B, Indiana
Jaixen Frost, R-Fr., 3B, Iowa
Tate Carey, Fr., SP, Michigan
Brayden Jefferis, Fr., OF, Michigan
Devin Nunez, Fr., UTL, Nebraska
Burke-Lee Mabeus, Fr., C, Oregon
Yomar Carreras, Fr., SS, Rutgers
Landon Mack, Fr., SP, Rutgers
Justin Shadek, R-Fr., SP, Rutgers
Wylan Moss, Fr., RP, UCLA
Andrew Johnson, Fr., RP, USC
Augie Lopez, Fr., UTL, USC

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Fighting Illini women's basketball head coach Shauna Green has announced the addition of Gisela Segura to the program. Segura – a graduate transfer from LIU – has signed a Big Ten Tender of Financial Aid with the University of Illinois and is set to join the program for the 2025-26 season.

Segura is a 5-foot-11-inch forward from Cervera, Spain, where she attended Institut Joaquim Blume. She began her collegiate career at Division II Franklin Pierce during the 2020-21 campaign and spent four seasons in New Hampshire, missing the 2022-23 year. Last season, Segura transferred to LIU as a graduate student.

As a Shark, Segura averaged 5.1 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.3 assists, 1.0 steal, and 0.5 blocks while posting 27.3 minutes per game. She shot 36.4% from the field, 22.0% from 3-point range, and 52.9% from the free throw line. At LIU, Segura appeared in 22 games with 19 starts. She tallied a season-high 10 points at Le Moyne and grabbed a campaign-best six rebounds against Mercyhurst.

During her time at Frankin Pierce from 2020-24, Segura appeared in 60 games while tallying 414 points, 263 rebounds, 119 assists, and 107 steals. In her career as a Raven, Segura averaged 6.9 points, 4.4 rebounds, 2.0 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.4 blocks across 27.3 minutes per game. She was named to the Northeast 10 All-Rookie team in 2021-22.

The daughter of Elisabet Segura Marin, Gisela has one brother, Pau, and was born December 10, 2002.

HEAD COACH SHAUNA GREEN ON THE ADDITION OF GISELA SEGURA:​

"I am super excited to have Gisela join our FamILLy. She brings experience to our program and a competitive spirit of doing whatever it takes to help us win. I can't wait to get her to campus and get to work."

GISELA SEGURA ON WHY SHE CHOSE ILLINOIS:​

"I chose Illinois because it feels like they are more than just a basketball program. From the moment I connected with the coaches, I knew this was a place where I could grow not just as an athlete, but as a person. The energy, the vision, and the culture at Illinois all align with who I am and who I'm striving to become. I am excited to embrace the challenge, represent Illinois, and give everything I've got to this journey."