NCAA Basketball: Top-25 impact incoming recruiting classes entering 2024-25 season

5. Illinois Fighting Illini

It was a year to remember in Champaign as Brad Underwood and the Illinois Fighting Illini broke through in the NCAA Tournament, reaching the Elite Eight and finishing the season with an overall record of 29-9 (14-6).

After falling one game short of a Final Four, the Illini were faced with a massive rehaul, losing the likes of Terrance Shannon Jr., Marcus Domask and Coleman Hawkins, among others. According to BartTorivk’s initial preseason rankings, Illinois returns just 14.2% of last year’s minutes.

However, Brad Underwood went to work in the transfer portal but made big-time moves on the recruiting trail.

Illinois, which will be one of the highest upside teams in CBB this season, will welcome five instant-impact recruits to Champaign, including two of the program’s highest-ranked all-time commits, according to 24/7 Sports in  Five-star F Will Riley -- who reclassified and joined the program in late June -- and four-star C Morez Johnson.

In addition to Riley and Johnson, Underwood also landed European recruits in Tomislav Ivisic and Kasparas Jakucionis, both expected to play instant-impact roles and compete for starting spots.

Given the high volume of newcomers -- both from the portal and as recruits -- who starts and comes off the bench remains unclear. But if there is one clear thing, it is the fact that Illinois' incoming recruiting class expects to be integral to its success in 2024-25.