Illinois Freshman Keaton Wagler Named Big Ten Freshman of the Year

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – Illinois Fighting Illini freshman guard Keaton Wagler has been named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, the conference announced Tuesday. Wagler likewise earned First-Team All-Big Ten honors from both the coaches and the media, and was a unanimous selection to the Big Ten All-Freshman Team.

Wagler is the fifth Illini player to receive the Big Ten Freshman of the Year award, joining Cory Bradford (1999), Brian Cook (2000), D.J. Richardson (2010), and Kofi Cockburn (2020). 247Sports reported on the accolades.

Historic Freshman Season

Wagler has had a standout freshman season, breaking the Illinois freshman scoring record with 554 points and averaging 17.9 points per game. He has scored in double figures in 23 consecutive games and 28 times overall this season, with nine games scoring 20 or more points. MSN highlighted his performance.

His season was punctuated by a remarkable 46-point performance in a win at Purdue on January 24th, marking the most points scored by any player in a top-10 road game and the most by a Big Ten freshman. He was recognized six times as the Big Ten Freshman of the Week and earned National Player of the Week honors following the Purdue game.

Teammate Recognition

Forward David Mirkovic joined Wagler on the coaches’ Big Ten All-Freshman Team and was named an All-Big Ten honorable mention. Mirkovic averages 13.2 points and leads the Illini in rebounding with 7.8 rebounds per game. He has recorded seven double-doubles this season, including a 27-point, 21-rebound performance against Colgate.

Senior Kylan Boswell received All-Big Ten honorable mention recognition from the media and was selected to the coaches’ Big Ten All-Defensive Team. Boswell is the Illini’s second-leading scorer at 13.3 points per game and also contributes 4.0 rebounds, and 3.4 assists.

Illini Success

Illinois, currently ranked No. 9, has achieved a 24-7 overall record and a 15-5 record in the Big Ten, finishing as the runner-up in the conference. This marks the team’s seventh consecutive 20-win season and their most regular-season wins since 2005-06.

The Illini will open Big Ten Tournament play in the quarterfinal round on Friday at 1:30 p.m. CT on BTN.