CHAMPAIGN, Ill. \u2014 Illinois\u2019 2026 recruiting story is starting to flip. After getting iced out of top prospects\u2019 shortlists earlier this year, head coach Brad Underwood and his staff have flipped the 2026 script, lining up one of the biggest names in the country for a September visit.<\/p>\n
Cameron Holmes, a 6-foot-6 five-star small forward from Millennium High School in Arizona, will be in town Sept. 12 for an official visit. When ESPN tabs you as the No. 18 player in the country, you\u2019re the kind of recruit who makes fanbases dream about March.<\/p>\n
Holmes looks like a level above as soon as he steps on the court, blending a pro-ready frame with the patience of a chess player. He can score at all three levels, and his length makes him a tough matchup for any opposing wing.<\/p>\n
The Illini aren\u2019t the only program chasing him, however. Holmes has high-profile trips scheduled to North Carolina, Texas, Gonzaga and Arizona, among others.<\/p>\n
But getting him on campus early is a statement, and another sign Brad Underwood and his staff have the 2026 momentum arrow pointing up.<\/p>\n
How he\u2019d fit in Champaign <\/p>\n
Holmes\u2019 versatility would be a dream for Illinois\u2019 five-out, positionless offense. He\u2019s big enough to switch defensively across the 2-through-4 spots, skilled enough to serve as a secondary playmaker and smooth enough to get buckets while maintaining the offensive flow. Holmes could immediately slide into a wing role that stretches the floor while attacking mismatches and fueling the Illini\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n
For a program that already has two 2026 commits and continues to see its name in shortlists, Holmes\u2019 visit is more proof that Underwood is building real momentum. Add Holmes to the mix, and Illinois\u2019 2026 group stops being a \u201cgood class\u201d and starts looking like the foundation of something bigger.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHAMPAIGN, Ill. \u2014 Illinois\u2019 2026 recruiting story is starting to flip. After getting iced out of top prospects\u2019…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":95294,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[68],"tags":[402,50743,50744,59499,398,400,401,99],"class_list":["post-95293","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ncaa-basketball","tag-basketball","tag-illinois-fighting-illini-basketball","tag-illinois-fighting-illini-basketball-recruiting","tag-illinois-news-and-links","tag-ncaa","tag-ncaa-basketball","tag-ncaabasketball","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95293","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=95293"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/95293\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/95294"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=95293"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=95293"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=95293"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}