The original March Madness took place in Illinois so it’s only right the collegiate one features some of their players.

The list features players that played all four years at an Illinois high school, some their or just born in Illinois.

Here’s all 45 players with ties to Illinois in the 2026 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament

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LEHIGH:

Hank Alvey is from Mapleton, Illinois and attended Illini Bluffs. He’s currently a 6-9 sophomore forward for Lehigh and has played and started in 34 games. This season, he averaged 15 points on 62.4 percent shooting with 6.9 rebounds, 2.1 assists, 1.1 steals, and 1.8 blocks in 30.7 minutes per game.

HOWARD:

Calvin Robbins is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at Kenwood Academy. He’s currently a 6-5 sophomore forward at Howard and has played in 31 games. This season, he averaged 1.5 points on 63.6 percent shooting with 1.3 rebounds in 5.8 minutes per game.

SMU:

Kevin “Boopie” Miller is from Chicago but did not play high school basketball in Illinois. He’s a 6-0 senior guard and has played and started in 32 games for SMU. This season, he averaged 19.2 points on 47 percent shooting with 3.9 rebounds, 6.4 assists, and 1.5 steals in 35.2 minutes per game. He is also shooting 41 percent on 4.9 3-point attempts per game.

MIAMI (OH):

Jackson Kotecki is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at St. Ignatius College Prep. He is a 6-9 junior forward and has played just five games for Miami (OH).

Leshawn Stowers is from Peoria and played high school basketball at Peoria Central. He is currently a 6-5 freshman guard at Miami (OH).

Kyle Waltz is from Elmhurst and played high school basketball at York. He is a 6-7 freshman forward and has played in 21 games for Miami (OH). This season, he averaged three points on 56.1 percent shooting with 1.3 rebounds and 0.6 assists in 7.3 minutes per game.

Rest Of Bracket

TCU:

Brock Harding is from Moline, Illinois and played high school basketball at Moline High School. He is a 6-0 junior guard that played and started in 33 games during his first season at TCU. He averaged eight points on 37.2 percent shooting with 2.8 rebounds, 5.7 assists, and 1.7 steals per game.

ST. JOHNS:

Bryce Hopkins is from Downers Grove, Illinois and played high school basketball at Fenwick. He is a 6-6 graduate senior forward in his first season with St. Johns after playing one at Kentucky and three at Providence. This season, Hopkins played and started in 34 games for the Red Storm. He averaged 13. points on 45.9 percent shooting with 6.2 rebounds, two assists, and 1.1 steals in 28.5 per game.

UNI:

Ben Schwieger is from Aurora, Illinois and played for Waubonsie Valley in high school. He is a 6-8 redshirt senior guard for the University of Northern Iowa. This season, he has played in 35 games while coming off the bench in 21 of the games. He averaged 9.9 points on 48.7 percent shooting with 4.6 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 1.1 steals, and 0.6 blocks in 27.7 minutes per game. Schwieger also shot 37.6 percent on 2.7 threes a game.

KANSAS:

Justin Cross is from Oak Park, Illinois and played high school basketball at Oak Park and River Forest. He is a 6-8 redshirt senior for Kansas and has only appeared in six games (one start) for the Jayhawks. He’s totaled 13 minutes on the court.

LOUISVILLE:

Kasean Pryor is from Chicago, Illinois but played high school basketball in Missouri and Michigan. The 6-9 sixth year has played in 22 games for Louisville. He averaged 2.3 points on 42.6 percent shooting with 1.9 rebounds in 6.7 minutes per game.

MSU

Jeremy Fears Jr. is from Joliet, Illinois and played high school Joliet and played high school basketball at Joliet West. The 6-2 guard has appeared and started in 32 games for Michigan State this season. He averaged several career-best in his redshirt sophomore season. Fears averaged 15.7 points on 44.5 percent shooting with 2.4 rebounds, 9.2 assists, and 1.3 steals in 32.2 minutes per game.

NDSU:

Dom Clay is from Quincy, Illinois and played high school basketball at Quincy. The 6-3 freshman guard did not play in a game this season for North Dakota State.

Riley Massey is from Shiloh, Illinois and played high basketball at De Smet Jesuit. The 6-3 freshman guard has appeared in 32 games including one start for the Bison. He averaged 1.4 points and one rebound in 8.2 minutes per game.

Damari Wheeler Thomas is from Elgin and played high school basketball at Larkin. He is 6-0 junior guard for North Dakota State. After missing all of last season, he has played 31 games. This season, he averaged 14.4 points on 40.4 percent shooting with 3.5 rebounds, 2.8 assists, 1.2 steals in 30.5 minutes per game. He also shot 38.5 percent on 5.9 threes per game.

UCONN:

Alec Millender is from Glenwood, Illinois and played high school basketball at St. Rita. The 6-1 graduate guard is in his first season with UCONN and played in 16 games- all off the bench.

FURMAN:

Asa Thomas is from Lake Forest and played basketball at Lake Forest. The 6-7 redshirt sophomore guard is in his first season with Furman after transferring from Clemson. He has appeared in 27 games while starting 21 of them. This season, Thomas has averaged 12.4 points on 41.3 percent shooting with 3.9 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 27.7 minutes per game. He also shot 38.9 percent on 7.5 3-point attempts.

UNC:

James Brown is from Aurora and played three high school seasons at St. Rita before transferring to Link Academy in Missouri. The 6-10 sophomore sophomore forward appeared in just nine games for the University of North Carolina. This season, he averaged 1.2 points on 75 percent shooting with 1.4 rebounds in 5.6 minutes per game.

ILLINOIS:

Kylan Boswell is from Champaign, Illinois but did not play high school basketball in-state. The 6-2 senior guard started and played in 25 games for Illinois. He averaged 13.2 points on splits of .465/.411/.802 with four rebounds, 3.3 assists, 0.8 steals in 30.4 minutes per game.

Blake Faghemi is from Naperville, Illinois and played high school basketball at Benet Academy. The 6-0 freshman guard played in nine games and averaged for minutes per game.

Jason Jakstys is from Yorkville, Illinois and played high school basketball at Yorkville. The 6-10 redshirt freshman center appeared in nine games off the bench this season for Illinois. He averaged 1.3 points on 80 percent shooting 1.9 rebounds in 5.3 minutes per game.

AJ Redd is from Chicago and played high school basketball at St. Ignatius. The 6-3 senior guard has appeared in nine games off the bench for the Illini. He averaged 1.4 points on 40 percent shooting in 2.8 minutes per game.

Ty Rodgers is from Saginaw, Michigan but did play high school basketball at Thornton in Harvey, Illinois. The 6-6 redshirt junior guard/forward has not played this season.

PENN:

Payton Kamin is from Chicago, Illinois and played some high school basketball at DePaul Prep. The 6-7 freshman forward appeared in four games for the University of Pennsylvania. He averaged one point on 40 percent shooting.

AJ Levine is from Elmhurst, Illinois and played high school basketball at York. The 6-0 sophomore guard appeared and started in 29 games for the Quakers. He averaged 8.3 points on 42.8 percent shooting with 3.2 rebounds, four assists, and 1.9 steals in 24.6 minutes per game.

Niklas Polonowski is from La Grange, Illinois and played high school basketball at Lyons. The 6-6 junior forward played in 21 games and averaged 1.3 points in 5.8 minutes per game off the bench.

Ethan Roberts is from Arlington Heights, Illinois and played some high school basketball at Hersey. The 6-5 senior forward appeared and started in 23 games for PENN. He avergaed 16.9 points on splits of .407/.499/.799 with 3.9 rebounds, 2.3 assists, and one steal in 30.5 minutes per game.

Dalton Scantlebury is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at Lane Tech. The 6-9 freshman center appeared in 28 games for the Quakers and came off the bench in all of them. He avergaed six points on 50.4 percent shooting with four rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 0.8 steals in 15.6 minutes per game.

TEXAS A&M

Marcus Hill is from Rockford, Illinois and played high school basketball at Rockford Christian. The 6-4 graduate guard appeared in 32 games for the Aggies and started 28 of them. He averaged 10.8 points on 49.6 percent shooting with 3.2 rebounds, 1.6 assists, and one steal in 23.1 minutes per game.

Rashuan Agee is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at Bogan. The 6-7 graduate forward appeared in 32 games for Texas A&M and started all but one. He averaged 14.7 points on 48.9 percent shooting 8.9 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and one steal in 26.8 minutes per game.

LIU:

Greg Gordon is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at Lincoln Park. The 6-5 graduate guard appeared and started in 34 games for Long Island University. This season, he averaged 14.1 points on 56.5 percent shooting with 5.5 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 1.8 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 33.9 minutes per game.

NC STATE:

Scottie Ebube is from Mundelein, Illinois and played high school basketball at Mundelein. The 6-10 senior center is in his first season with North Carolina State after transferring from Wyoming. He appeared in 16 games this season which included one started. Ebube averaged 1.2 points on 88.9 percent shooting and one rebound in 4.3 minutes per game.

GONZAGA:

Braden Huff is from Glen Ellyn, Illinois and played basketball at Glenbard West. The 6-10 redshirt junior appeared and started in 18 games for Gonzaga. This season, he averaged 17.8 points on 66.2 percent shooting with 5.6 rebounds, 1.5 assists, and 0.5 blocks in 25.4 minutes per game.

Adam Miller is from Peoria, Illinois and played high school basketball at Morgan Park. The 6-3 graduate guard joined the Zags this season after spending two seasons with Arizona State. He has appeared in 33 games including 23 starts. He averaged 7.6 points on 42.8 percent shooting with 1.6 rebounds, 1.1 assists, and 0.7 steals in 19.9 minutes per game.

MISSOURI:

Sebastian Mack is from Chicago, Illinois but did not play high school basketball in Illinois. The 6-3 junior guard joined the Tigers after spending his first two collegiate season with the UCLA Bruins. This season, he’s appeared in 18 games with nine coming off the bench. Mack averaged seven pooints on 40.7 percent shooting with 1.3 rebounds, 0.6 assists, and 0.9 steals in 16.3 minutes per game.

PURDUE:

Daniel Jacobsen is from Chicago, Illinois but did not played high school basketball in Illinois. The 7-4 sophomore center played in 35 games for Perdue. This season, he averaged six points on 64.5 percent shooting with 3.3 rebounds and 1.3 blocks in 13.6 minutes per game.

MICHIGAN:

Nimari Burnett is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at Morgan Park before finishing at another school. The 6-4 graduate guard played and started in 33 games for Michigan. This season, he averaged 8.2 points on splits of .451/.376/.805 with 2.4 rebounds, 1.2 assists, and 0.5 steals in 19.2 minutes per game.

Morez Johnson Jr. is from Riverdale, Illinois and played high school basketball at Thornton. The 6-9 sophomore forward has been tremendous for Michigan after transferring from Illinois. He played and started in 33 games and averaged 13.3 points on splits of .629/.393/.787 with 7.3 rebounds, 1.2 assists, 0.8 steals, and 1.2 blocks in 25.1 minutes per game this season.

SLU:

Robbie Avila is from Oak Forest, Illinois and played basketball at Oak Forest. The 6-10 senior forward has played and started in 33 games for Saint Louis. This season, he averaged 12.9 points on splits pf .506/.416/.805 with 4.5 rebounds, 4.1 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.5 blocks in 26.2 minutes per game.

Quentin Jones is from Hazel Crest, Illinois and played high school basketball at Marian Catholic. The 6-5 junior guard played in 33 games (31 starts) in his first season as a Billiken after transferring from Northern Illinois. This season, he averaged 9.2 points on splits of .456/.368/.810 with 3.9 rebounds, 2.9 assists, 0.9 steals, and 0.8 blocks in 26.5 minutes per game.

AKRON:

Tavari Johnson is from La Grange, Illinois and played high school basketball at Lyons. In his third season at Akron, he started in 34 games. He averaged 20.1 points on splits of .512/.373/.810 with three rebounds, five assists, and 1.3 steals in 32 minutes per game.

Conner Groce is from Champaign, Illinois but did not play high school basketball in Illinois. The 6-0 redshirt freshman guard has appeared in 12 games off the bench for Akron.

VIRGINIA

Sam Lewis is from Chicago, Illinois and played high school basketball at Simeon. The 6-7 junior guard appeared in 34 games including 33 started for Virginia. This season, he averaged 10.8 points on splits of .462/.407/.742 with 3.6 rebounds, 1.4 assists, and 0.8 steals in 25.4 minutes per game.

SANTA CLARA:

Brad Longcor III is from Quincy, Illinois and played high school basketball at Quincy. The 6-4 freshman guard has not appeared in game this season for Santa Clara.

Brendan Yarusso is from Lombard, Illinois and played high school basketball at St. Francis. This season, the 6-1 senior guard has appeared in eight games for Santa Clara and has averaged two points in 1.1 minutes per game.