Keaton Wagler

Wagler was born to Logan and Jennifer Wagler, both of whom played basketball for Hutchinson Community College, known affectionately as "Hutch", in the 1990s. 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.. 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. Ultimately, Wagler committed to play college basketball for the Illinois Fighting Illini. ==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. On December 6, he recorded 16 points, eight rebounds, and five assists, with zero turnovers in a win over Tennessee. On December 9, Wagler scored 23 points in a victory against Ohio State. On December 13, he recorded his first career double-double with 19 points and 10 assists in a 83–80 loss to Nebraska. 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. 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. 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. Following his freshman season, Wagler declared for the 2026 NBA draft. == References ==