CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Head coach Shauna Green bolstered her squad with five recruits in the Class of 2025, including four in the top 100 of the espnW HoopGurlz Recruiting Rankings. Manuella Alves, Naomi Benson, Erica Finney, Destiny Jackson, and Cearah Parchment all signed Big Ten Athletics Scholarship Agreements during the national signing period, with the Fighting Illini's five-player recruitment class coming in at No. 7 in espnW's post-signing window class rankings.
Green and the Illini coaching staff added four top-100 signees during the national signing period, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks tied for second nationally. Jackson (No. 25), Parchment (No. 40), Alves (No. 61), and Benson (No. 98) all earned spots in the prestigious rankings.
Jackson, a five-star point guard from Chicago, was also named to the Naismith Trophy Girl's High School Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.
Green put together the nationally ranked recruiting class in just her third season at Illinois after clinching the inaugural WBIT title in 2024. Across her first two years with the Orange and Blue, Green totaled 41 wins, the most by a head coach across their first two years in program history, and she has now led the Illini to ranked wins in each of her three seasons in Champaign. Under Green's tutelage, the Illini have made back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 campaigns and registered back-to-back top-five single-season attendance marks at State Farm Center.
The program's current success has translated directly to Illinois' recruiting momentum. The Illini have earned a spot in the AP top 25 in back-to-back weeks and sit at No. 22 in the most recent poll while boasting a 4-0 record thus far this season.
After adding five-star freshman Berry Wallace in the Class of 2024, Green has now signed five-star recruits in back-to-back years with the addition of Jackson in 2025. Green and her staff have already coached 10 espnW Top 100 recruits at Illinois.
Shauna Green on the 2025 recruiting class:
"We are so proud of this 2025 class that we have put together. I can't thank my staff enough for the hard work, the time that they put in to really develop deep, genuine relationships; that's what we pride ourselves on here. Our culture and our recruiting is about building relationships and most of these kids in our class that we have signed we've been recruiting for years. Putting together this top 10 recruiting class is something that we knew was a critical piece as we lose five seniors. We've addressed all our needs from point guard, to really filling the four and the five positions. I think the class overall shaped up to be as good as it could possibly get. I could not be more excited, and also more grateful, for our staff for all the work that they did to be able to sign a class of this magnitude."
Manuella Alves | F | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Naomi Benson | F | Streetsboro, Ohio
Erica Finney | G | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Destiny Jackson | G | Chicago, Illinois
Cearah Parchment | F | Whitby, Ontario, Canada
Green and the Illini coaching staff added four top-100 signees during the national signing period, a mark that leads the Big Ten and ranks tied for second nationally. Jackson (No. 25), Parchment (No. 40), Alves (No. 61), and Benson (No. 98) all earned spots in the prestigious rankings.
Jackson, a five-star point guard from Chicago, was also named to the Naismith Trophy Girl's High School Player of the Year Preseason Watch List.
Green put together the nationally ranked recruiting class in just her third season at Illinois after clinching the inaugural WBIT title in 2024. Across her first two years with the Orange and Blue, Green totaled 41 wins, the most by a head coach across their first two years in program history, and she has now led the Illini to ranked wins in each of her three seasons in Champaign. Under Green's tutelage, the Illini have made back-to-back postseason appearances for the first time since the 2006-07 and 2007-08 campaigns and registered back-to-back top-five single-season attendance marks at State Farm Center.
The program's current success has translated directly to Illinois' recruiting momentum. The Illini have earned a spot in the AP top 25 in back-to-back weeks and sit at No. 22 in the most recent poll while boasting a 4-0 record thus far this season.
After adding five-star freshman Berry Wallace in the Class of 2024, Green has now signed five-star recruits in back-to-back years with the addition of Jackson in 2025. Green and her staff have already coached 10 espnW Top 100 recruits at Illinois.
Shauna Green on the 2025 recruiting class:
"We are so proud of this 2025 class that we have put together. I can't thank my staff enough for the hard work, the time that they put in to really develop deep, genuine relationships; that's what we pride ourselves on here. Our culture and our recruiting is about building relationships and most of these kids in our class that we have signed we've been recruiting for years. Putting together this top 10 recruiting class is something that we knew was a critical piece as we lose five seniors. We've addressed all our needs from point guard, to really filling the four and the five positions. I think the class overall shaped up to be as good as it could possibly get. I could not be more excited, and also more grateful, for our staff for all the work that they did to be able to sign a class of this magnitude."
Manuella Alves | F | Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Four-star ranked No. 61 in espnW's HoopGurlz rankings
- Ranked a four-star recruit by 247Sports
- Averaged 10.7 points and 8.2 rebounds over six games for Brazil at 2024 FIBA U18 Women's AmeriCup
Naomi Benson | F | Streetsboro, Ohio
- Four-star ranked No. 98 in espnW's HoopGurlz rankings
- First Team All-Ohio, Metro Conference Player of the Year, First Team All-District, Tri-County Underclassman of the Year, Team MVP as a junior in 2023-24
- Helped high school team to first sectional championship in 36 years as a freshman and led high school to first league and district titles in program history
Erica Finney | G | Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Averaged 8.0 points and 2.4 rebounds and shot 35.9% from deep in the FIBA U17 2024 World Cup while representing Team Australia at the event in Mexico
- Represented New South Wales at the 2024 Australian National Championships, averaging 12.9 points, 5.5 rebounds, and 1.4 steals while shooting 41.1% from 3-point range
- 2023 NBL1 East Defensive Player of the Year and 2024 NBL1 East Most Improved Player
Destiny Jackson | G | Chicago, Illinois
- Five-star ranked No. 25 in espnW's HoopGurlz rankings
- Ranked No. 28 prospect in the Class of 2025, No. 6 at her position, and No. 1 in the state of Illinois by 247Sports
- Three-time Chicago Public League (CPL) champion and three-time First Team All-Conference selection with Whitney Young
Cearah Parchment | F | Whitby, Ontario, Canada
- Four-star ranked No. 40 in espnW's HoopGurlz rankings
- Four-star ranked No. 46 prospect in the Class of 2025 and No. 11 at her position by 247Sports
- Averaged 3.9 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.0 steals in the FIBA U17 tournament to win the silver medal playing for Team Canada
