No. 2 scorer Stojakovic returns to loaded Illinois

Andrej Stojakovic will return to Illinois for his senior season, his agent Drake U'u told ESPN on Friday.

The return of Stojakovic, the team's second-leading scorer and son of former NBA star Peja Stojakovic, puts Illinois squarely in consideration for preseason No. 1 in 2026-27. The Fighting Illini are bringing back five of their top seven scorers from a group that reached the Final Four earlier this month.

A 6-foot-7 wing who started his career at Stanford and Cal, Stojakovic averaged 13.5 points and 4.5 rebounds per game in 2025-26. He was named to the All-Region team during Illinois' run to the Final Four, scoring 21 points against VCU, 13 points against Houston and 17 points against Iowa.

Stojakovic started 21 games for Illinois before suffering an ankle injury that caused him to miss two games. Upon return, he moved to a sixth-man role, where he provided a scoring boost off the bench for coach Brad Underwood during the Illini's postseason surge.

Underwood made Stojakovic's retention a priority, as he joins fellow returnees David Mirkovic, Tomislav Ivisic, Jake Davis and Zvonimir Ivisic. Star guard and projected top-10 pick Keaton Wagler left for the NBA draft and starter Kylan Boswell is out of eligibility, but every other key player is back.

The Illini have supplemented the roster by adding top-10 transfer Stefan Vaaks from Providence, a talented offensive player, and a pair of top-60 recruits in Quentin Coleman and Lucas Morillo.