2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball
NCAA tournament, Second Round
ConferenceBig Ten Conference
Record22–12 (9–9 Big Ten)
Head coach
Associate head coachCalamity McEntire
Assistant coaches
Home arenaState Farm Center
2025–26 Big Ten women's basketball standings
Conf. Overall
Team W   L   PCT W   L   PCT
No. 2 UCLA † 18 – 0   1.000 33 – 1   .971
No. 9 Michigan 15 – 3   .833 27 – 6   .818
No. 7 Iowa 15 – 3   .833 27 – 7   .794
No. 12 Ohio State 13 – 5   .722 27 – 8   .771
No. 18 Minnesota 13 – 5   .722 24 – 8   .750
No. 17 Maryland 11 – 7   .611 24 – 9   .727
No. 20 Michigan State 11 – 7   .611 23 – 9   .719
Washington 10 – 8   .556 22 – 11   .667
USC 9 – 9   .500 18 – 14   .563
Illinois 9 – 9   .500 22 – 12   .647
Oregon 8 – 10   .444 23 – 13   .639
Nebraska 7 – 11   .389 19 – 13   .594
Indiana 6 – 12   .333 18 – 14   .563
Purdue 5 – 13   .278 13 – 17   .433
Wisconsin 5 – 13   .278 15 – 17   .469
Penn State 4 – 14   .222 11 – 18   .379
Northwestern 2 – 16   .111 8 – 21   .276
Rutgers 1 – 17   .056 9 – 20   .310
† 2026 Big Ten tournament winner
As of March 23, 2026
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team represents the University of Illinois during the 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball season. The Fighting Illini are led by fourth-year head coach Shauna Green, and they play their home games at State Farm Center. This season marks the program's 44th season as a member of the Big Ten Conference.

Previous season

Main article: 2024–25 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team

The Illini finished the 2024–25 season with a 22–10 record, 11–7 in Big Ten play to finish in a three way tie for fifth place. As the No. 7 seed in the Big Ten tournament, they lost in the second round to Nebraska.[1] They received an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament as the No. 8 seed in the Birmingham 3 region. They defeated Creighton, which was their first NCAA tournament win since 2000,[2] before losing in the second round to Texas.[3]

Accolades

Three Illini players earned All-Big Ten honors after the end of the 2024–2025 season. Kendall Bostic was named to the league's first team in both the media and coaches' polls, Genesis Bryant was voted to the second team by the media and the coaches, and Adalia McKenzie was recognized as an honorable mention by the media. Bostic ended her playing career as the program's all-time leading rebounder and was tied with Jenna Smith for most career double-doubles.[4]

Off-season

On April 23, 2025, Illinois announced the hiring of Jackie Alexander as an assistant coach, replacing Liza Fruendt. Alexander arrived at Illinois after one season as assistant coach and recruiting coordinator for the Toledo Rockets, having worked previously at other institutions since 2017.[5]

In October 2025, it was announced that two incoming players would miss the entire season due to injuries. Forward Manuella Alves suffered a torn ACL in preseason workouts and guard Erica Finney had bilateral knee procedures.[6]

Departures

Departures
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Reason for departure
Genesis Bryant 1 G 5'6" Graduate Student Jonesboro, GA Graduated
Cori Allen 2 G 5'10" Sophomore Nashville, TN Transferred to Memphis
Makira Cook 3 G 5'6" Graduate Student Cincinnati, OH Graduated
Shay Bollin 22 F 6'3" Junior Raynah, MA Transferred to Wisconsin
Brynn Shoup-Hill 23 F 6'3" Senior Goshen, IN Graduated
Adalia McKenzie 24 G 5'10" Senior Brooklyn Park, MN Graduated
Kendall Bostic 44 F 6'2" Graduate Student Kokomo, IN Graduated

Incoming transfers

Incoming transfers
Name Number Pos. Height Year Hometown Previous school
Aaliyah Guyton 1 G 5'7" Sophomore Peoria, IL Iowa
Gisela Segura 24 F 5'11" Graduate Student Cervera, Spain LIU
Maddie Webber 34 G 5'11" Junior Sparta, NJ Villanova

2025 recruiting class

College recruiting information
Name Hometown School Height Weight Commit date
Destiny Jackson
PG 		Chicago, IL Whitney Young High School 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (96)
Cearah Parchment
F 		Fort Erie, ON Fort Erie International Academy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (94)
Manuella Alves-Fernandez
F 		Rio de Janeiro, Brazil IMG Academy 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (94)
Naomi Benson
W 		Streetsboro, OH Streetsboro High School 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) N/A  
Recruit ratings: ESPN:    (91)
Overall recruit ranking:
  • Note: In many cases, Scout, Rivals, 247Sports, On3, and ESPN may conflict in their listings of height and weight.
  • In these cases, the average was taken. ESPN grades are on a 100-point scale.

Sources:

  • "2025 Player Commits". ESPN. Archived from the original on August 26, 2025.

Roster

2025–26 Illinois Fighting Illini women's basketball team
Players Coaches
Pos. # Name Height Year Previous school Hometown
G 1 Aaliyah Guyton 5 ft 7 in (1.7 m) So Iowa Peoria, IL
G 2 Destiny Jackson 5 ft 6 in (1.68 m) Fr Whitney Young Chicago, IL
G 3 Erica Finney  6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) Fr Cammeraygal Sydney, Australia
G 4 Gretchen Dolan  5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) RS So Williamsville South Buffalo, NY
F 6 Irene Noya Catoira 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) So Institut Joaquim Blume Vilagarcía de Arousa, Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
G 8 Jasmine Brown-Hagger 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) Jr Mississippi State Shorewood, IL
F 11 Manuella Alves  6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr IMG Academy Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
G 12 Mia Zenere (W) 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) So Example Academy Mokena, IL
F 21 Naomi Benson 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) Fr Streetsboro Streetsboro, OH
F 23 Berry Wallace 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m) So Pickerington Central Pickerington, OH
F 24 Gisela Segura 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) GS LIU Cervera, Spain
C 25 Hayven Smith 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m) So Lincoln Way East Frankfort, IL
F 30 Cearah Parchment 6 ft 3 in (1.91 m) Fr Fort Erie International Academy Whitby, ON, Canada
G 34 Maddie Webber 5 ft 11 in (1.8 m) Jr Villanova Sparta, NJ
C 35 Lety Vasconcelos 6 ft 7 in (2.01 m) RS So Baylor Miguel Calmon, Bahia, Brazil
Head coach
Assistant coach(es)
Legend
  • (C) Team captain
  • (S) Suspended
  • (I) Ineligible
  • (W) Walk-on

Roster

Schedule and results

Date
time, TV 		Rank# Opponent# Result Record High points High rebounds High assists Site (attendance)
city, state
Exhibition
October 30, 2025*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Maryville W 79–60  0–0
  22 – Parchment   13 – Parchment   4 – Tied  State Farm Center (4,149)
Champaign, IL
Regular season
November 4, 2025*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Southeast Missouri State W 91–67  1–0
  27 – Wallace   11 – Wallace   7 – Dolan  State Farm Center (4,227)
Champaign, IL
November 9, 2025*
12:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Illinois State W 75–65  2–0
  22 – Wallace   9 – Parchment   5 – Dolan  State Farm Center (4,849)
Champaign, IL
November 14, 2025*
8:00 p.m., ESPN+ 		at Oregon State L 59–64  2–1
  24 – Wallace   6 – Tied   2 – Tied  Gill Coliseum (3,353)
Corvallis, OR
November 18, 2025*
11:00 a.m., B1G+ 		Murray State W 84–64  3–1
  22 – Wallace   11 – Parchment   5 – Jackson  State Farm Center (14,361)
Champaign, IL
November 23, 2025*
1:00 p.m., ACCNX/ESPN+ 		at Florida State W 86–63  4–1
  25 – Dolan   9 – Vasconselos   5 – Jackson  Donald L. Tucker Civic Center (1,502)
Tallahassee, FL
November 26, 2025*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Western Kentucky W 70–41  5–1
  16 – Tied   8 – Parchment   4 – Guyton  State Farm Center (4,216)
Champaign, IL
November 30, 2025*
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Le Moyne W 100–28  6–1
  17 – Tied   7 – Parchment   8 – Jackson  State Farm Center (3,994)
Champaign, IL
December 2, 2025*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Bellarmine W 90–41  7–1
  16 – Parchment   12 – Parchment   7 – Jackson  State Farm Center (3,979)
Champaign, IL
December 6, 2025
11:00 a.m., BTN 		Indiana W 78–57  8–1
(1–0) 		 16 – Tied   13 – Parchment   6 – Jackson  State Farm Center (4,712)
Champaign, IL
December 10, 2025*
6:00 p.m., SECN 		at Missouri
Braggin' Rights 		W 70–62  9–1
  21 – Dolan   9 – Wallace   9 – Jackson  Mizzou Arena 
Columbia, MO
December 14, 2025*
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		North Texas W 81–69  10–1
  28 – Wallace   9 – Wallace   4 – Dolan  State Farm Center (4,136)
Champaign, IL
December 19, 2025*
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Jackson State W 86–43  11–1
  13 – Guyton   7 – Tied   7 – Jackson  State Farm Center (4,112)
Champaign, IL
December 28, 2025
11:00 a.m., BTN 		at Purdue W 83–73  12–1
(2–0) 		 21 – Wallace   8 – Parchment   4 – Jackson  Mackey Arena (6,031)
West Lafayette, IN
January 1, 2026
3:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 7 Maryland W 73–70  13–1
(3–0) 		 22 – Wallace   8 – Parchment   3 – Tied  State Farm Center (5,207)
Champaign, IL
January 4, 2026
11:00 a.m., BTN 		at No. 24 Michigan State L 75–81  13–2
(3–1) 		 22 – Tied   10 – Jackson   6 – Jackson  Breslin Center (5,114)
East Lansing, MI
January 7, 2026
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 19 Ohio State L 69–78  13–3
(3–2) 		 20 – Parchment   8 – Parchment   3 – Tied  State Farm Center (4,237)
Champaign, IL
January 11, 2026
2:00 p.m., BTN 		at Penn State W 92–76  14–3
(4–2) 		 28 – Wallace   8 – Wallace   9 – Jackson  Bryce Jordan Center (1,945)
State College, PA
January 15, 2026
6:00 p.m., Peacock 		No. 25 at No. 8 Michigan L 69–85  14–4
(4–3) 		 26 – Wallace   8 – Parchment   5 – Guyton  Crisler Center (3,108)
Ann Arbor, MI
January 18, 2026
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 25 Northwestern W 74–71  15–4
(5–3) 		 29 – Wallace   11 – Parchment   4 – Brown-Hagger  State Farm Center (5,068)
Champaign, IL
January 24, 2026
1:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 24 Nebraska L 75–81  15–5
(5–4) 		 25 – Parchment   11 – Parchment   3 – Tied  Pinnacle Bank Arena (7,683)
Lincoln, NE
January 28, 2026
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		No. 2 UCLA L 67–80  15–6
(5–5) 		 26 – Parchment   7 – Parchment   6 – Jackson  State Farm Center (4,756)
Champaign, IL
February 1, 2026
5:00 p.m., FS1 		at No. 25 Washington W 75–66  16–6
(6–5) 		 23 – Parchment   10 – Parchment   4 – Jackson  Alaska Airlines Arena (4,691)
Seattle, WA
February 4, 2026
8:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Oregon L 73–76  16–7
(6–6) 		 19 – Wallace   6 – Tied   7 – Jackson  Matthew Knight Arena (4,397)
Eugene, OR
February 8, 2026
12:00 p.m., B1G+ 		USC L 62–70  16–8
(6–7) 		 17 – Jackson   12 – Parchment   8 – Jackson  State Farm Center (15,544)
Champaign, IL
February 11, 2026
6:00 p.m., B1G+ 		Wisconsin W 92–60  17–8
(7–7) 		 22 – Guyton   15 – Parchment   6 – Tied  State Farm Center (4,458)
Champaign, IL
February 17, 2026
6:00 p.m., BTN 		Rutgers W 76–56  18–8
(8–7) 		 21 – Wallace   10 – Parchment   8 – Jackson  State Farm Center (4,373)
Champaign, IL
February 22, 2026
2:00 p.m., B1G+ 		at Northwestern W 92–65  19–8
(9–7) 		 19 – Tied   10 – Parchment   7 – Jackson  Welsh–Ryan Arena (3,046)
Evanston, IL
February 26, 2026
8:00 p.m., BTN 		at No. 9 Iowa L 78–82  19–9
(9–8) 		 21 – Wallace   12 – Parchment   6 – Jackson  Carver–Hawkeye Arena (14,998)
Iowa City, IA
March 1, 2026
1:00 p.m., BTN 		No. 22 Minnesota L 73–78  19–10
(9–9) 		 15 – Wallace   7 – Wallace   5 – Brown-Hagger  State Farm Center (5,785)
Champaign, IL
Big Ten tournament
March 4, 2026
5:00 p.m., Peacock 		(10) vs. (15) Wisconsin
First Round 		W 82–70  20–10
  22 – Wallace   6 – Tied   5 – Jackson  Gainbridge Fieldhouse (6,587)
Indianapolis, IN
March 5, 2026
5:30 p.m., BTN 		(10) vs. (7) No. 18 Michigan State
Second Round 		W 71–69  21–10
  15 – Parchment   6 – Tied   5 – Jackson  Gainbridge Fieldhouse (5,149)
Indianapolis, IN
March 6, 2026
5:30 p.m., BTN 		(10) vs. (2) No. 9 Iowa
Quarterfinals 		L 58–64  21–11
  22 – Brown-Hagger   9 – Parchment   6 – Jackson  Gainbridge Fieldhouse (6,053)
Indianapolis, IN
NCAA tournament
March 21, 2026*
8:30 p.m., ESPN2 		(7 FW1) vs. (10 FW1) Colorado
First Round 		W 66–57  22–11
  21 – Parchment   11 – Jackson   6 – Jackson  Memorial Gymnasium (4,111)
Nashville, TN
March 23, 2026*
6:00 p.m., ESPN2 		(7 FW1) at (2 FW1) No. 6 Vanderbilt
Second Round 		L 57–75  22–12
  18 – Wallace   9 – Wallace   3 – Jackson  Memorial Gymnasium (4,440)
Nashville, TN
*Non-conference game. #Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses.
Fort Worth 1=FW1.
All times are in Central.

Source:[7]

Rankings

Main article: 2025–26 NCAA Division I women's basketball rankings
Ranking movements
Legend: ██ Increase in ranking ██ Decrease in ranking
— = Not ranked RV = Received votes
Week
PollPre12345678910111213141516171819Final
APRV————RVRVRVRVRV25RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV
Coaches—————————RVRVRVRVRV————RVRV

See also

References

  1. ^ "[7] Fighting Illini Fall to [10] Nebraska in Big Ten Tournament Second Round". fightingillini.com. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. March 6, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  2. ^ "Long time coming: Illini women's basketball wins NCAA tournament opener". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. March 22, 2025. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  3. ^ Vozzelli, Joe (March 25, 2025). "Notes: Wallace shines on NCAA tournament stage". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved February 22, 2026.
  4. ^ "Bostic leads All-Big Ten honors for Illini". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. March 4, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  5. ^ "Alexander Joins Illinois Women's Basketball Staff as Assistant Coach". fightingillini.com. Champaign, Illinois: University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. April 23, 2025. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  6. ^ Richey, Scott (October 28, 2025). "Two Illini set to miss full 2025–26 season". The News-Gazette. Champaign, Illinois. Retrieved February 23, 2026.
  7. ^ "2025–26 Women's Basketball Schedule". University of Illinois Division of Intercollegiate Athletics. Retrieved October 30, 2025.
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