Keaton Wagler
No. 23 – Illinois Fighting Illini
Position Shooting guard / point guard
League Big Ten Conference
Personal information
Born (2007-02-03) February 3, 2007 (age 19)
Nationality American
Listed height 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m)
Listed weight 185 lb (84 kg)
Career information
High school Shawnee Mission Northwest (Shawnee, Kansas)
College Illinois (2025–present)
Career highlights
  • Consensus second-team All-American (2026)
  • First-team All-Big Ten (2026)
  • Big Ten Freshman of the Year (2026)
  • Big Ten All-Freshman Team (2026)

Keaton Wagler (born February 3, 2007) is an American college basketball player for the Illinois Fighting Illini of the Big Ten Conference.

Early life and high school

Wagler was born to Logan and Jennifer Wagler, both of whom played basketball for Hutchinson Community College, known affectionately as "Hutch", in the 1990s.[1][2] His basketball roots run even deeper. One of his great-grandfathers, one of his grandfathers, an uncle, and his older brother Landon all played at Hutch. The great-grandfather went on to play at TCU and later ran the national junior-college men's tournament, and the uncle won a national title while playing for Hutch. Also, his older sister Brooklyn was part of a junior college national championship team at Kansas City Kansas Community College before playing at MidAmerica Nazarene University, and Landon also went on to play at MidAmerica Nazarene.[2]

Wagler attended Shawnee Mission Northwest High School in Shawnee, Kansas. Coming out of high school, he was rated as a four-star recruit. At the time his career high was a 32-point game vs Chaminade (MO) in Quincy, Illinois, which he later shattered scoring 46 points against Purdue[3]. He received offers from schools such as UT-Rio Grande Valley, LeMoyne, Northern Colorado, Murray State, Oral Roberts, UIC, DePaul, Southern Illinois, Saint Louis, Colorado State, Illinois, and Tulsa.[4] Ultimately, Wagler committed to play college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini.[5]

College career

In his debut on November 3, 2025, Wagler totaled 18 points, six rebounds, four assists, and two steals in a win versus Jackson State.[6] On December 6, he recorded 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, with zero turnovers in a win over Tennessee.[7] On December 9, Wagler scored 23 points in a victory against Ohio State.[8] On December 13, he recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 assists in a 83–80 loss to Nebraska.[9]

On January 24, 2026, Wagler recorded 46 points at Purdue, setting a new record for an Illinois freshman in a single game. This also tied Andy Kaufmann’s 46 points on December 3, 1990 for the second-most points in a single game for Illinois. Wagler is considered a potential lottery pick in the 2026 NBA draft.[10] The performance represented the most points by a Big Ten basketball player ever scored against an AP Poll top 5 opponent and the most points ever scored in a road win against a top ten opponent.[11] The performance also broke a 58-year old record for points scored by an opponent at Mackey Arena, broke the school single-game record with 9 made three point shots and was the most in a Big Ten road game since Mike Woodson posted 48 in 1979.[12]

References

  1. ^ Hall, Erik (February 7, 2026). "Keaton Wagler: 5 things to know about the Illinois basketball guard". The Telegraph. Retrieved February 17, 2026.
  2. ^ a b Rittenberg, Adam (February 26, 2026). "The unexpected rise of Keaton Wagler at Illinois". ESPN.com. Retrieved February 26, 2026.
  3. ^ "Illinois Freshman Keaton Wagler, Once Overlooked, Drops 46 to Stun No. 4 Purdue". SI. January 25, 2026. Retrieved March 29, 2026.
  4. ^ Richey, Scott. "Good Morning, Illini Nation: Offer out to 2025 guard". The News-Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  5. ^ Thomas, Tristan. "Four-star guard Keaton Wagler commits to Illinois". WCIA.com. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  6. ^ Richey, Scott. "Wagler impressing early in his Illini career". The News-Gazette. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  7. ^ Lagendorf, Jackson. "Did Illinois' Keaton Wagler Just Level Up Against Tennessee?". Illinois Fighting Illini on SI. SI.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  8. ^ Reedy, Joe. "Keaton Wagler's 23 points lead No. 13 Illinois in Big Ten opener". QuadCityTimes.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  9. ^ Richey, Scott (December 13, 2025). "Illinois leaning on Keaton Wagler". The News-Gazette. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  10. ^ Lagendorf, Jackson (December 10, 2025). "Four Illini in 2026 NBA Mock Draft – Including a Surprise First-Round Projection". Illinois Fighting Illini on SI. SI.com. Retrieved December 16, 2025.
  11. ^ "Illinois and Michigan State Score Men's Basketball Weekly Honors". Big Ten Conference. January 26, 2026. Retrieved January 27, 2026.
  12. ^ Huett, Wes (January 24, 2026). "Who is Keaton Wagler? Freshman sets records in Illinois basketball victory". Peoria Journal Star. Retrieved January 27, 2026.