Keaton Wagler has transformed from an under-the-radar recruit to a standout player at Illinois, earning accolades like Big Ten Freshman of the Year and consensus Second Team All-American. His unexpected performance has contributed significantly to the team's success.
Apr. 16âCHAMPAIGN â The lore around Keaton Wagler's arrival in Champaign last summer has become part of the broader story told about his rise from under-the-radar recruit to one-and-done All-American.
Did Wagler perform better than the Illinois men's basketball coaching staff expected during those June and July workouts?
Absolutely.
Was it some guarantee he would turn into the Big Ten Freshman of the Year, a consensus Second Team All-American, lead the team to a Final Four and ultimately qualify to have his No. 23 jersey raised to State Farm Center rafters?
Not quite.
"He came in," Illinois assistant coach Zach Hamer said, "and we knew right away he was probably better than we thought."
A conversation Hamer had with fellow Illini assistant coach Tyler Underwood, though, revolved around how Wagler would do inside the three-point range. Like if he would ever make a two-point basket for Illinois.
Legitimate concerns existed about how the 6-foot-6 Wagler, who showed up on campus at 168 pounds, would fare physically through the grind of a Big Ten season. That's where Illinois' two-pronged development approach kicked in.
Hamer, who shifted from Illinois' defensive coordinator to director of player development last offseason, handles the program's on-court efforts from creating a practice plan for the team to running players through intentional, specific one-on-one workouts. Adam Fletcher just finished his 11th season as the Illini's strength and conditioning coach.
That combination helped Wagler turn his natural gifts into the best season for a freshman in Illinois history. And it started with a daily breakfast of pancakes, as many eggs as the freshman guard could put down and a smoothie as a calorie boost.
"Unlike a lot of people, and, honestly, I wish I had this problem, he really struggled eating," Fletcher said. "It was a lot of time of me sitting down and, honestly, watching him eat. There would be times we'd be at breakfast close to an hour for him to be able to finish the amount of food he needed to finish."
Daily weigh-ins through the summer and into the season tracked Wagler's progress. The morning of Illinois' Final Four showdown with Connecticut, Wagler weighed in at 191 pounds. A 23-pound weight gain at the end of a 37-game season Fletcher said only happens with time, attention to detail and Wagler's willingness to make it happen.
But it wasn't just 23 pounds gained. It was weight added in the form of functional strength. The results on the court were the proof.
Wagler averaged a team-high 17.9 points and did so shooting 40 percent from three-point range and 62 percent at the rim â the two spots nearly 70 percent of his shots came from during the memorable 2025-26 season.
"I think he got so much better because of the strength and some of the quickness and power that he developed in the weight room," Hamer said. "He got so much better as a finisher around the rim and in the paint with some of his decelerations and stops and his craftiness and reading defenders throughout the course of the season.
Keaton Wagler has been named Big Ten Freshman of the Year and a consensus Second Team All-American.
Wagler's performance during June and July workouts surpassed the Illinois men's basketball coaching staff's expectations.
Wagler played a crucial role in leading the team to a Final Four appearance.
Yes, his No. 23 jersey is set to be raised to the rafters at State Farm Center.
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"That allowed him to be a true three-level guy. He came in as a good jump shooter. With his work in the weight room and on the court working different finishes, he became an elite, lethal two-point scorer, and his ability to draw fouls on top of that made him really hard to guard and really fun to coach."
Brad Underwood often describes Illinois as a developmental program.
The growing number of players in the NBA (four in the last five years) and first-round picks (Wagler will likely make it three years in a row with at least one) helps confirm the way the Illinois coach views what he's built in his nine years in Champaign.
Fletcher pre-dated Underwood, starting in 2015 after being hired by John Groce. His influence has only grown as Illinois has invested more in that side of the program. The $40 million renovation of Ubben Basketball Complex included a larger weight room and, perhaps more importantly, a recovery suite filled with high-end equipment.
"It's the backbone of our program is what happens in the weight room," Hamer said. "It's the first thing anyone asks about in a recruiting conversation. It's the highlight of every Zoom that we do.
"What he's able to do to get guys to perform at a high level is not just gaining weight. The pictures on Instagram of their bodies changing are great, but it's about their ability to change how they move. Fletch puts so much thought into creating plans and creating programs to get guys to be more durable, more explosive and stronger as well. It's about being a functional mover first and building strength on top of that."
Hamer just completed his seventh season on staff. He arrived in 2019 after spending time both in the NBA and WNBA and moved from video coordinator to assistant to the head coach before being elevated to assistant coach in 2023. Hamer's time at the professional level provided the player development experience he's put to work with the Illini.
"If you watch Zach train one of our players on the court, it's not against a cone," Fletcher said. "It's not one-on-zero. He's putting managers into action that allow our players to make reads. He sees the game at a very high level and understands what our guys need specifically to continue their development. Really in the offseason, but he also does it in the season as well. Honestly, as he goes into the season, it becomes more specific to what we're doing that year."