Ben Humrichous Returning to Illinois for 2025-26 Season
Senior forward Ben Humrichous will return to Illinois for a second year after transferring from Evansville last offseason, a team spokesperson confirmed to Illini Inquirer. Originally from Tipton, Indiana, Humrichous started his college career at NAIA Huntington before transferring to Evansville, and then Illinois. Thanks to the Pavia ruling, he still has one year of eligibility remaining.
In his first season with the Illini, Humrichous started 26 of 35 games, averaging 7.6 points and 3.8 rebounds per game while shooting 37.5% overall and 34.3% from beyond the arc. He lost his starting role late in the season but contributed off the bench. By contrast, during the 2022-23 season at Evansville, he averaged 14.7 points per game and shot 48.4% from the field and 41.4% from three-point range.
Illinois head coach Brad Underwood expressed optimism about Humrichous’ return: “He’s got a chance to really thrive now that he’s more comfortable in our system. He stretches the floor well, and there’s truly no better person than Ben.”
Humrichous is the fifth returning player for Illinois this offseason, joining Kylan Boswell, Tomislav Ivisic, Ty Rodgers, and Jake Davis. This brings back at least 44.6% of the team’s minutes from last season—an enormous jump from the previous offseason’s 2.8%—matching the continuity level of last year’s Elite Eight team.
While Humrichous didn’t fully meet shooting expectations this past season, Illinois is not counting on him to log starter-level minutes in 2025-26. With the arrival of players like Tre White, Morez Johnson Jr., and NBA-level talents Tomislav and Zvonimir Ivisic, Humrichous will likely play a more limited role where his experience and floor-spacing ability could prove valuable.
